Immortal Renegade Sealer Of Eternal Will Pursuing Truth Against Heaven
by righteousfangyuan
Summary: A dominating life of unrestrained swag needs no explanation.
1. Chapter 1

Mount Hood lay in the Eastwood Mountain Range, and at its base was a quaint little village. The villagers there lived off the land, and didn't have much to do with the outside world.

Currently it was dawn, and the villagers were congregated at the village gate to see off a young man of fifteen or sixteen years of age. He seemed thin and weak, but had a healthy, fair complexion, and an overall charming appearance. He wore an ordinary green robe that had apparently been washed so many times it was nearly worn through. Something about the way he was dressed, plus the innocent look in his eyes, made him seem exceptionally quick-witted.

His name was Naruto.

"Dear elders and fellow villagers," he said, "I am on my way to learn about immortal cultivation. I shall miss all of you!" The young man wore a slightly pained expression, as if he couldn't bear to part with his fellow villagers. This made him look even more charming than before.

The surrounding villagers exchanged glances, shrugged helplessly, and then pretended to look even more reluctant to see him leave.

A white-haired old man stepped out of the crowd and said, "Naruto, ever since your dad and mom left us, oh so long ago, you... you have been, er-" he paused for a moment "-such a good kid!" Seeing that Naruto hadn't left yet, he continued, "Don't tell me you're not interested in living forever? All you have to do is become an immortal, and then you can live forever! That's a really, really long time! Well, it's time for you to leave now. Even a baby eagle must learn to fly eventually. No matter what situations you run into out there, you have to hang in there and keep moving forward. Once you leave the village, you can't come back, because your path will always lie ahead, not behind!"

The old man patted Naruto kindly on the shoulder.

"Live forever..." Naruto murmured. A tremor ran through him, and a look of determination slowly filled his eyes. Under the encouraging gazes of the old man and the other villagers, he nodded his head seriously and looked around at everyone one last time. Finally, he turned and walked away from the village.

As he disappeared off into the distance, the villagers started to look more and more excited. Their forlorn expressions turned to those of joy, and the kind-faced old man began to tremble. Tears even streamed down his face.

"Justice from the heavens! The weasel... is finally gone! Who was it that told him they saw an immortal in the area? Whoever it was, I'm going to give you a huge reward on behalf of the village!"

The village was soon echoing with cries of rejoicing. Some people even took out gongs and drums and began banging them excitedly.

"The weasel is gone," someone said, "but oh, my poor chickens. He hated the roosters crowing at dawn, so he somehow got all the kids in the village to eat every chicken we had..."

"Today is the beginning of a new era!"

By this point, Naruto was still fairly close to the village, and could actually hear the sounds of the gongs and drums. He even caught wind of some of the cries of excitement.

He stopped in his tracks, a strange expression on his face. After a moment, he cleared his throat and proceeded on his way. Accompanied by the faint sounds of rejoicing, he began to make his way toward Mount Hood.

Mount Hood wasn't a very tall mountain, but it was covered with thick vegetation. Therefore, despite the fact that it was dawn, beneath the trees, it was dark and quiet.

"Double-Dog told me that he was hunting some wild pigs a few days ago and saw an immortal flying around..." Naruto proceeded along, heart thumping. Suddenly, a rustling sound could be heard from some nearby shrubs. It almost sounded like a wild pig, and it immediately caused Naruto to grow extremely nervous. The hair on the back of his neck stood up straight as he asked, "Who is it? Who's there?!"

He quickly pulled four axes and six machetes out of his travel pack, but that in and of itself didn't make him feel much safer, so he also produced a bit of black incense from within his robe, which he clutched tightly in his left hand.

"Don't come out!" he shouted, trembling. "Don't even think about coming out! I've got axes and machetes, and this incense can call lightning from the heavens, and even summon immortals! If you dare to show your face, you're dead!" Finally, he turned and ran toward the mountain path, simultaneously juggling all of the various weapons in his hands. Clanking sounds could eventually be heard as axes and machetes began to fall to the ground left and right.

Perhaps whatever it was that had been rustling around in the shrubbery really did end up getting frightened by him. The sounds ceased, and no wild animal burst out of the bushes. Naruto hurried toward the mountain, wiping the sweat from his brow. By this point, his face was pale, and he was almost considering giving up this crazy idea of climbing the mountain, but then he thought about the incense stick, which his parents had handed down to him before they died. Supposedly, it had been passed down from their ancestors, a gift bestowed by a down-and-out immortal they had saved. Before departing, the immortal had given it to them to pay back the kindness they had shown. Furthermore, the immortal had even promised to take a member of the Uzumaki Clan as a disciple. He told them that merely burning the incense stick would summon him to their side.

Naruto had actually lit the incense stick more than ten times in the past few years, and yet, no immortal had ever shown up. It had eventually reached the point that Naruto was starting to suspect whether or not the story about the immortal was even true. Finally, he'd resolved to climb the mountain. For one thing, the incense stick was almost used up, and also, there was the matter of the flying immortal being sighted recently.

And that was how he ended up in his current situation. His theory was that if he could get a bit closer to the immortal, then perhaps it would be easier for that immortal to sense the incense stick.

Standing in front of the mountain, he hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and decided to keep going. Thankfully, the mountain wasn't very high, and it didn't take long to reach the peak, where he stopped, panting. He looked at the village down below, and an emotional expression appeared on his face. Then he glanced at the finger-nail sized bit of black incense. It had clearly been burned on numerous occasions, and was almost completely used up.

"It's been three years. Bless me, mom and dad. It has to work this time!" Naruto took a deep breath, and then carefully lit the incense. A stiff breeze instantly kicked up, and in the blink of an eye, dark clouds filled the sky. Lightning crackled, and deafening thunder boomed in his ears.

The majesty of the entire scene caused Naruto to tremble, fearful that he might be killed by the lightning. He very nearly spit on the incense to extinguish it, but managed to hold back.

"I've lit this incense twelve times in the past three years, and this is the thirteenth time. I have to let it burn! Come on, Naruto! The lightning won't kill you. At least probably not..." All twelve times that he had lit the incense in the past, there had been lightning and thunder, and yet no immortal had ever appeared. Each time, he had gotten so scared that he spit on the incense to put it out. He actually found it a bit strange that a supposedly immortal stick of incense could be extinguished with some ordinary saliva.

Naruto sat there shaking in fear as the thunder boomed around him. Suddenly, a streak of light appeared in the air off in the distance.

It was a middle-aged man wearing luxurious clothing. He had the demeanor of a transcendent being, yet he looked weary and travel-worn. In fact, if you looked closely, his eyes seemed to flicker with extreme exhaustion.

"Finally I can see exactly what moron has been lighting that incense stick all the time for the past three years!"

Every time the man thought about what he had experienced during the past few years, he got extremely annoyed. Three years ago, he had sensed the medicinal aura of an incense stick he had given away back when he was in the Chakra Condensation stage. That immediately caused him to recall the debt he owed back in the mortal world.

The first time he flew out in response to the incense stick being lit, he had assumed it would be a simple matter of heading out and then immediately returning. He had never imagined that before even being able to find the incense, its aura would suddenly vanish, severing his connection to it. If it had happened only once, it wouldn't have been a big deal. However, over the course of three years, the aura had appeared more than ten times.

Over and over again his search was interrupted, ensuring that he was constantly leaving his sect and then going back. Back and forth, back and forth. It was torment.

As he closed in on Mount Hood, he caught sight of Naruto. Fuming with numerous frustrations, the man landed on the mountain top and waved his hand, instantly extinguishing the sputtering incense stick.

The thunder ceased, and Naruto stared at the man in shock.

"Are you an immortal?" Naruto asked cautiously. Still unsure about what exactly was going on, he slipped his hand behind his back and grabbed an axe.

"You may call me Taruho. Are you from the Uzumaki Clan?" The middle-aged cultivator's eyes shone like lightning as he measured up Naruto, ignoring the axe behind his back. To him, Naruto seemed delicate, almost pretty, and reminded him of his old friend from years ago. Furthermore, his latent talent seemed suitable. Taruho's anger gradually began to fade.

Naruto blinked a few times. Although he was still a bit scared, he sat up straight and quietly said, "Junior most definitely is from the Uzumaki Clan. I'm Naruto."

"Alright, well tell me this," Taruho said, his voice cool. "Why did you light that incense so many times over the past three years!?" He very much wanted to know the answer to this question.

As soon as Naruto heard the question, his mind spun as he tried to come up with a good answer. Finally, a melancholic expression appeared on his face, and he looked down toward the village at the bottom of the mountain.

"Junior is a sentimental and righteous person," he said. "I simply couldn't bear to part with my fellow villagers. Every time I lit the incense, I was overwhelmed with feelings of sorrow. The mere thought of leaving them behind was far too painful."

Taruho stared in shock. He had never considered such a possibility, and as such, the anger in his heart faded even more. He could tell from this young man's words alone that he was definitely good material.

However, the next thing he did was send his divine sense down toward the village, and he heard the sounds of drums and gongs and rejoicing. He even heard the villagers talking about how glad they were that 'the weasel' was gone. An unsightly expression appeared on his face, and he felt a headache coming on. He looked back at the charming and pure Naruto, who seemed like he wouldn't hurt a fly, and suddenly realized that this kid was a villain to the core.

"Tell me the truth!" Taruho said, his voice echoing like thunder. Naruto was so frightened that he started shaking.

"Hey, you can't blame me!" Naruto said, sounding very miserable. "What kind of crappy incense is this anyway!? Every time I lit it, lightning would start crashing around everywhere! I almost got killed on several occasions! In fact, avoiding that lightning thirteen times was quite a feat!"

Taruho looked silently at Naruto.

"If you were so scared, then why did you light it over ten times?!" he asked.

"'Cuz I'm scared of dying!" Naruto replied indignantly. "Isn't the point of immortal cultivation to be able to live forever? I want to live forever!"

Taruho was once again struck speechless. However, he found the kid's fascination with living forever laudable, and realized that his personality might change a bit after some hard training in the sect.

After a moment of thought, he waved his sleeve, sweeping Naruto up into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

"Alright, come with me," he said.

"Where are we going?" asked Naruto, suddenly realizing that they were flying. "Ah, we're so high..." The ground was very, very far down, causing the blood to drain from his face. He immediately dropped his axe and grabbed onto the Immortal's leg.

Taruho looked down at him clutching his leg. Feeling a bit at a loss, he replied, "The Spirit Stream Sect."

The Spirit Stream Sect was located in the Eastwood Continent on the lower branch of the Heavenspan River, and was divided between the north and south banks. Its history stretched back countless years, and was very famous in the area.

Eight enormous cloud-wreathed mountains towered over the Heavenspan River. Four of those mountains were located on the north bank of the river, whereas three were on the south bank. Shockingly, one mountain, the most majestic of them all, rose up from the middle of the river itself.

The entire top half of that mountain was covered with brilliant white snow, and rose up so high that the peak of the mountain wasn't even visible. The middle of the mountain had been hollowed out, allowing the golden river water to flow right through it, and causing the mountain itself to somewhat resemble a bridge.

Currently, a beam of light was speeding along near the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. It was none other than Taruho and Naruto. As they raced into the servants' quarters beneath the third peak, it was just possible to hear Naruto shouting out in fear.

He was scared to death from all the flying. They had passed over countless mountains, and the entire time, he had felt like he was losing his grip on Taruho's leg.

Eventually, everything turned into a blur. When everything finally became clear again, he realized that they had landed just outside of a building. He stood there, legs trembling, looking around at a scene that was very different from what he was used to back at the village.

Towering up in front of the building was a huge stone, upon which three characters were written in flamboyant calligraphy.

Department of Servant Affairs.

Sitting next to the stone was a pock-faced woman. As soon as she caught sight of Taruho, she rose to her feet and clasped hands in greeting.

"Send this kid to the Ovens," Taruho said. Without another word, and paying no further heed to Naruto, he then transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

When the pock-faced woman heard him mention the Ovens, she stared in shock. She looked Naruto over, then handed him a bag which contained a servant's uniform and other items. Face expressionless, led him away from the building toward a nearby path, simultaneously explaining some of the basic sect rules and customs. The path was paved with green limestone, and wound through numerous buildings and courtyards. The fragrant aroma of plants and flowers filled the air, and the entire place seemed like a celestial paradise. As he looked around, Naruto's heart began to thump with excitement, and his previous nervousness and anxiety began to fade.

"This place is awesome," he thought. "It's way better than the village!" His eyes shone with anticipation as he followed the woman along. The scenery only continued to get more and more spectacular. He even saw some beautiful women along the way, which instantly caused his heart to surge with delight.

Soon, Naruto got even more excited. That was because he caught sight of what appeared to be their destination; at the end of the path was a seven-story building that sparkled like crystal. There were even celestial cranes soaring in the air above it.

"Are we there yet, Elder Sister?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Yes," she replied coolly, her face as expressionless as ever. She pointed to a small path off to the side. "That's where we're going."

Naruto looked in the direction she was pointing, heart bursting with anticipation. But then, his entire body went stiff, and he rubbed his eyes. He looked again, a bit more closely, and saw a gravel path lined by haphazardly-constructed thatch-roofed huts that looked like they might disintegrate at any moment. A strange aroma wafted out from the area.

Naruto wanted to cry, but no tears would come. Still clinging to a scrap of hope, he asked the pock-faced woman another question.

"Elder Sister, did you point in the wrong direction just now?"

"Nope," she replied coolly, stepping onto the gravel path. When Naruto heard her response, all of the beauty of the place seemed to disappear. A bitter expression appeared on his face as he continued to follow her.

Before long, he caught sight of the end of the decrepit path, where he saw several huge black woks running around. After a moment, he realized that the woks were actually attached to the backs of several incredibly fat young men. These young men were so obese that it seemed like squeezing them would cause pure fat to ooze out. One of them was even fatter than the others, so fat that he looked like a mountain of flesh. Naruto was even worried that the man might explode from being so fat.

The entire area was filled with hundreds of huge cooking woks, within which fat men were boiling rice.

Sensing that someone had approached, the young men looked up and saw the pock-faced woman. The fattest of the young men, the one who looked like a mountain of flesh, hefted his ladle and hurried over. The ground trembled as he walked, and his fat bounced and jiggled in a way that made Naruto stare in shock. Without even thinking about it, he began to feel around for an axe.

"The magpies were singing especially beautiful songs this morning, and now I know why," the mountain of flesh cried out as he ran over. His eyes flickered with a lustful gleam. "It was all because you were coming, big sis. Could it be that you've changed your mind? You finally realized how talented I am, and want to take advantage of this auspicious day to formally become my Daoist partner?"

The pock-faced woman looked at the mountain of flesh with both disgust and anger.

"I'm just here to deliver this kid to the Ovens," she said. "Task accomplished. I'll take my leave now!" Then she hurried off.

Naruto gasped. He had taken the time to check out the woman on their way here, and she really looked like a freak. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of taste this fat man had. Apparently even someone with a face like hers got him all hot and bothered.

Before Naruto could consider the matter any more, the mountain of flesh was suddenly standing in front of him, panting a bit. The young man was so huge that Naruto found himself completely covered by his shadow.

Naruto looked up at the enormous young man and his quivering rolls of flesh, and swallowed hard. This was actually his first time ever seeing someone so fat.

The mountain of flesh glanced resentfully at the pock-faced woman, who was making her way back up the gravel path, then looked back at Naruto.

"Well well, we have a newcomer. We'd left a spot open for Sora to join, so this complicates matters."

Naruto felt nervous just looking at the young man's enormity, and subconsciously took a few steps back. "Elder Brother, I am your humble... er, humble servant Naruto..."

"Naruto? Hmm... White skin, slender and dainty. You look pretty innocent. Excellent, excellent. Your name really fits my taste." The mountain of flesh looked him over, then clapped Naruto on the shoulder, which very nearly sent Naruto flying off to the side.

"Uh, what's your name, Elder Brother?" Naruto took a deep breath and looked up thoughtfully as he prepared to make fun of the young man's name.

The mountain of flesh chuckled and slapped his chest, causing the fat to ripple back and forth. "I'm Big Fatty Choji. That's Second Fatty Chikara, and that's Third Fatty Kuro..."

As soon as Naruto heard these incredibly stirring names, he abandoned any plans to make fun of them.

"As for you," Big Fatty Choji continued, "from now on, you'll be Ninth Fatty Naruto! Er... Wait a second, Junior Brother. You're way too skinny! If you go around looking like that, you'll lose face for the Ovens! Well, I guess that doesn't matter for now. Don't worry. After a few years, you'll get fat too. Then we'll call you Ninth Fatty Naruto."

When Naruto heard the nickname Ninth Fatty Naruto, he grimaced.

"Well, since you're already our Ninth Junior Brother, you don't count as an outsider any more. Here in the Ovens, we have a long-standing tradition of carrying woks on our backs. See this wok here on my back?" He slapped the wok and continued boastfully: "It's the king of woks, forged from the highest quality iron and engraved with an earthflame spell formation. When you use this wok to cook up spirit rice, the flavor is far, far better than the rice cooked in any other wok. By the way, you'll have to choose a wok to carry on your back, too. Then you'll look really impressive."

Glancing at Big Fatty Choji's wok, and realizing that everyone else in the Ovens was similarly adorned, Naruto suddenly got an image of himself walking around in such a fashion.

"Elder Brother," he blurted, "is it possible to opt out of the wok-carrying thing...?"

"Are you kidding me? Wok-carrying is an important tradition in the Ovens! Later on when you're out in the sect, people will see the wok on your back and instantly recognize that you're from the Ovens! Once they know that, they won't dare to pick on you. The Ovens has a lot of influence around here, you know!" Big Fatty Choji winked at Naruto. Allowing no further discussion of the matter, he led Naruto to one of the thatch-roofed huts, within which were stacks of thousands of woks, most of which were covered in layers of dust. Clearly, no one had been in here for quite some time.

"Go ahead and pick one, Ninth Junior Brother, then come on over and help tend to the rice. If the rice burns, then the Outer Sect disciples will make a scene again." With that Big Fatty Choji turned and ran back to join the other fat men as they hustled and bustled among the more than one hundred cooking woks.

Sighing in despair, Naruto looked over the woks, and was agonizing over which one to pick when he suddenly noticed one particular wok off in the corner, buried under a big pile.

It was a unique wok that, instead of being circular, was shaped like an oval. It almost didn't even look like an oval, but rather, like a turtle shell. There were also some faint markings visible on its surface.

"Eee?" Naruto's eyes brightened, and he quickly walked over and squatted down to look at the wok more closely. After dragging it out and examining it further, his eyes began to shine with satisfaction.

He had been fond of turtles ever since he was young, mostly because they represented longevity. Considering that he had come to learn about immortal cultivation for the purposes of living forever, as soon as his saw the turtle-shell wok, he knew that it was an auspicious sign, a good omen.

After he emerged with the wok, Big Fatty Choji caught sight of him and hurried over, ladle in hand.

"Ninth Junior Brother, why did you pick that one?" he asked sincerely, rubbing his ample belly. "That wok has been in there for years, and nobody has ever used it, mainly because it looks like a turtle shell and people don't want to put it on their backs. Umm... are you sure, Ninth Junior Brother?"

"I'm sure." Naruto said resolutely, looking fondly at the wok. "This is the wok for me."

Big Fatty Choji tried to dissuade him some more, but eventually realized that Naruto had made up his mind. Finally, he gave him a strange look and stopped trying. After assigning him one of the Ovens' thatch-roofed huts for housing, he went back to work.

Soon, dusk had fallen. Naruto sat in his thatch-roofed hut, examining the turtle-shaped wok. One thing that stuck out to him were the designs traced on the back of the wok, which were so faint that you wouldn't see them unless you looked closely.

He could instantly tell that this was no ordinary wok. Carefully putting it on the stove, he looked around the little hut. It was very simple. In addition to the stove, it had a bed, a desk, and an ordinary copper mirror hanging on the wall. As Naruto had his head turned to look around, the seemingly-ordinary wok behind him suddenly emitted a flash of violet light!

As far as Naruto was concerned, this had been a day packed with all sorts of momentous events. He had finally arrived in the land of his dreams, a world of immortals. At the moment, he was still in a bit of a daze.

After a bit of time passed, he took a deep breath, and his eyes began to shine with anticipation.

"I'm gonna live forever!" As he sat there, he pulled out the bag which the pock-faced woman had given him.

Inside the bag was a medicinal pill, a wooden sword, some incense, a servant's uniform, and a command medallion. Finally, there was a bamboo scroll with several small characters written on the cover.

"Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art. Chakra Condensation Manual."

It was evening, and Big Fatty Choji and the others in the Ovens were bustling about. Meanwhile, Naruto was looking at the bamboo scroll, eyes shining with anticipation. He had come here in order to learn how to live forever, and he held the key to achieving that goal in his hands right now. After taking a deep breath, he opened the scroll.

Moments later, his eyes were gleaming with excitement. The bamboo scroll had three pictures, and accompanying text that described how cultivation was divided into two stages of Chakra Condensation and Foundation Establishment. As far as the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, it was divided into ten levels, each of which corresponded to the ten levels of Chakra Condensation.

By practicing cultivation to a given level, it was possible to exercise control over physical objects. After reaching the third level, you could control half of a small cauldron. At the sixth level, it became half of a large cauldron. At the ninth level, it was a full cauldron. As for the final full circle, you could actually control two full cauldrons.

Unfortunately, this scroll only described up to the third level of the art, with no further information about the subsequent levels. The key to the whole thing was cultivation, using a prescribed set of breathing techniques to develop the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art.

Naruto cleared his mind and began to regulate his breathing. Then he closed his eyes and imitated the posture depicted in the first picture in the bamboo scroll. He was able to hold on for three breaths of time before intense pain filled him. Finally, he let out a shout and gave up. From what he could tell, using this breathing technique actually sucked all the air out of him, making it impossible to actually breathe.

"This is way too hard," he thought. "According to the description under the picture, when you practice this kind of cultivation, you should be able to sense a strand of Chakra flowing through you. Just now, though, the only thing I felt was intense pain." He was starting to get frustrated. However, for the sake of living forever, he gritted his teeth and tried again. He repeated the process over and over again until it was the middle of the night. During that entire time, he never once sensed any sort of Chakra in his body.

He had no way of knowing it, but even someone with exceptional latent talent who tried to cultivate the first level of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art would need at least a month to succeed, unless they had some outside help. Considering that, it was simply impossible that he could have succeeded after only a few hours.

Body aching painfully, Naruto finally stretched, and was about to go wash his face when, all of a sudden, he heard a commotion outside. He stuck his head out of the window and immediately caught sight of a sallow-faced young man standing in the door of the main courtyard of the Ovens. He looked angry.

"I'm Sora! Whoever it was that took my spot here, get the hell out here right now!"

The motion of Naruto sticking his head out of the window instantly attracted the attention of the sallow-faced young man. Enraged, he yelled, "So, you're the guy who took my spot!"

It was too late for Naruto to duck his head back into the window. He immediately pasted an innocent expression onto his face and said, "No, it wasn't me!"

"Liar! You're so skinny and short, you're obviously a newbie here!" Sora clenched his hands into fists and stared furiously at Naruto. He was so angry that he looked like he might explode at any moment.

Feeling quite wronged, Naruto peeped: "It really had nothing to do with me!"

"I don't care! Three days from now on the southern slope of the sect, you and I are gonna have a fight to the death! If you win, then I'll have no choice other than to suck it up. If you lose, then I get my spot back." Sora shoved his hand into his robe and pulled out a blood notice, which he threw onto Naruto's window sill. The notice was covered with countless versions of the character "DIE," all of them written in blood.

Naruto looked down at all the "DIE" characters and couldn't miss the killing intent roiling off of them. His heart went cold. Then he remembered that Sora had just mentioned a 'fight to the death,' and he gasped.

"Elder Brother, this isn't that big a deal! Why did you have to go and use your own blood to write so many characters? Didn't it... hurt?"

"Not a big deal?!" Sora roared, gnashing his teeth. "Humph! I've been living frugally for ages. I saved up spirit stones for seven years! Seven years, do you hear me!? Only then could I afford to bribe the honor guard into getting me a spot in the Ovens! Then you decide to stick your foot into the door? This enmity will never be reconciled! Three days from now is the day you die!"

"I think I'll pass," Naruto said, picking up the blood notice gingerly between his thumb and forefinger, and then tossing it out the window.

"YOU!" raged Sora. Suddenly, he felt the ground shaking, and he realized that there was a mountain of flesh standing there next to him. It was hard to say how long Big Fatty Choji had been standing there, but there he was, off to the side, coldly measuring up Sora.

"Ninth Fatty," he said, addressing Naruto, "you're on dish duty with Second Brother." Then he looked back at Sora. "As for you, stop causing such a ruckus! Get your ass out of here!" He swept his ladle through the air threateningly, causing a gust of wind to spring up.

Sora's face fell, and he backed up several steps. He wanted to keep arguing, but seeing the impatient look on Big Fatty Choji's face, he shot a venomous look at Naruto, then stalked off.

As Naruto thought about it, he realized that considering the vicious look Sora had given him, he was certain to pop up again at some point. Therefore, the best thing to do in this situation would be to stay put in the Ovens. Most likely, Sora wouldn't dare to come back there and cause trouble.

Days passed. Naruto slowly got used to working in the Ovens during the day, and cultivating the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art at night. However, progress was slow. Eventually he got to the point where he could endure for four breaths of time, but no more, leaving him very frustrated.

On one particular night in the middle of his cultivation session, he suddenly heard a big commotion among the fat Elder Brothers.

"Close the gate, close the gate! Hurry up, Second Fatty Chikara, close that gate!"

"Third Fatty Kuro, check and see if anyone is spying on us. Quickly!"

Naruto blinked in shock. Having learned from his previous mistake, he avoided the window and peeked through a crack in the door. What he saw was a bunch of fatties bustling around the courtyard so fast they were almost flying.

Moments later, the main gate to the Ovens was closed tightly. Furthermore, for some reason, a light mist had sprung up, making the fatties look even more mysterious than ever.

Naruto watched the scene playing out. The fatties were now hustling over to one particular thatched hut. Despite all the mist, Naruto could clearly see Big Fatty Choji's formidable frame, and he seemed to be speaking to the others. The whole scene was very odd, so Naruto began to edge away from the door in an attempt to pretend he hadn't seen anything at all.

However, it was at that exact point that Big Fatty Choji's voice echoed out: "Ninth Fatty, I know you're watching. Get out here!" Although he didn't speak very loud, his voice instantly weighed down on Naruto.

Naruto blinked a few times, then slowly walked out the door, putting on the innocent expression of a person who wasn't capable of even hurting a fly.

As soon as he neared the group of fatties, Big Fatty Choji grabbed him and pulled him over to stand among them. Almost immediately, Naruto caught a whiff of some unique aroma, something that instantly caused a warm feeling to spread throughout his body.

He looked around at the others, and saw that they all had euphoric expressions on their faces. For some reason, he also felt enlivened. It was then that he noticed that Big Fatty Choji was holding a magical mushroom in his hand. It was about the size of an infant's hand, and as translucent as crystal; all it took was a single glance, and anyone could tell that it was no ordinary item.

Big Fatty Choji looked over at Naruto, then held out the mushroom and gruffly said, "Come on, Ninth Junior Brother, take a bite."

"Uhh..." replied Naruto, eying the magical mushroom. Then he looked around at all the fat Elder Brothers, and hesitated. Big Fatty Choji instantly got irritated. From the look on his face, if Naruto didn't eat the mushroom, the two of them would become enemies.

It wasn't just him. Second Fatty Chikara, Third Fatty Kuro, and all the others were all glaring at Naruto.

Naruto swallowed hard. Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined himself in a situation where people would flip out in anger if he didn't take a bite of a priceless magical mushroom, as if it were nothing more than a chicken leg. And yet, that was exactly what was happening right in front of his very eyes.

Naruto's heart was thumping as he gritted his teeth and accepted the magical mushroom. Finally, he opened his mouth and took a big bite. The mushroom instantly dissolved in his mouth, causing a wonderful sensation to fill his body, something many times more intense than what he had experienced moments before when merely smelling it. Almost instantly, his face flushed bright red.

"Excellent. Elder Iruka demanded that we use this hundred-year-old magical mushroom in a soup. If we all take a bite, then we'll have to sink or swim together!" Big Fatty Choji looked extremely content as he opened his mouth and took a nibble. Then he tossed the mushroom to the next fatty in line, and soon, all of them were munching on mushroom flesh. Now that they were all chewing together, the group smiled at Naruto as if he were now one of them.

Naruto chuckled as he realized that all these guys were essentially partners in crime. Furthermore, considering they had gotten so fat this way, it probably wasn't dangerous to join them. It was little wonder Sora had given him a challenge notice with the word "DIE" written on it so many times….

"Elder Brother," Naruto said, "that magical mushroom was scrumptious! I feel like my whole body's on fire!" He licked his lips and looked impatiently at Big Fatty Choji.

In response, Big Fatty Choji's eyes began to shine brightly. With a hearty laugh, he flamboyantly pulled out a sealwort flower, which he handed to Naruto.

"Now do you see how amazing the Ovens is, Junior Brother? I wasn't lying! Alright, eat up. Eat till you're stuffed!"

Naruto's eyes began to shine as he took a big bite. Next, Big Fatty Choji pulled out some sort of natural precious material, something that looked like a golden jewel, which emanated a fragrant aroma.

Naruto needed no prompting from Big Fatty Choji. He immediately took a bite and swallowed it down. The tangy flavor filled him with a wonderful sensation. After that, Big Fatty Choji produced an incredibly sweet red spirit fruit.

More items emerged. Magical mushrooms, various medicinal ingredients, spirit fruits and other precious items. Naruto partook of them all, as did the other fatties. He ate so much that soon, his head was spinning. He almost felt drunk, his body hot and burning to the point where white steam rose up from the top of his head. He already felt as fat as a ball.

The more he ate, the more kindly Big Fatty Choji and the others looked at him. In the end, they slapped their stomachs and laughed heartily, and they all truly seemed like partners in crime.

Head swimming, Naruto stretched out his arms and legs. His hand landed on Big Fatty Choji's giant stomach, and his foot landed off to the side. He began to laugh along with the others.

"Other servant departments would kill to get one of their own into the Outer Sect. But we kill to make sure we stay out! Who wants to go there anyway? What's so good about the Outer Sect, huh?" Big Fatty Choji sounded very proud of this. As he finished speaking, he pulled out a ginseng root. The root itself had countless faintly visible age rings, and was covered with numerous rootlets. Clearly, this ginseng root was very old.

"Ninth Junior Brother, our cultivation bases are all strong enough that we could have become Outer Sect disciples a long time ago. However, we prefer to hide our true level. Look, there are Outer Sect disciples who would kill for the chance to get a single bite of a one-hundred-year-old ginseng root like this. Do we look scared?" Big Fatty Choji subsequently plucked a rootlet off and popped it into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Then he handed the ginseng root to Naruto.

Naruto was so stuffed he almost couldn't see straight. "Elder Brother, I'm full... I really can't eat another bite-"

Before he could even finish speaking, Big Fatty Choji plucked off a rootlet and stuffed it into Naruto's mouth.

"Ninth Junior Brother, you're far too skinny, so skinny that the girls in the sect won't like you. In our sect, they like guys like us Brothers, stalwart and plump! Come on, eat..." Big Fatty Choji let out a huge burp. Then he picked up a stack of empty bowls, simultaneously pointing to two scrolls hanging on either side of the nearby thatched hut, upon which was written a couplet. "Look, we have a saying here that goes I'd rather starve to death in the Ovens than struggle up the ladder in the Outer Sect."

Naruto looked over at the couplet and said, "Yeah, for sure! We all want to starve to death here! Uh... yeah, starve to death."

Then he slapped his stomach and let out a burp.

Hearing this, Big Fatty Choji and the others all started laughing. They all were finding Naruto to be increasingly charming.

"Today is a great day," Big Fatty Choji said. "Ninth Junior Brother, I have something important to tell you. We have certain ways of doing things here in the Ovens, and to fit in, you need to memorize a certain mnemonic. Pay attention. Fruits and herbs of a magical nature; Nibble the edges but spare the stem; Slice the meat thin when there's some to butcher; As for the bones leave some flesh on them; Spirit congee? Water it down until it's thin; Fine wine? Half a cup will do you in.

"These six lines were compiled after years of suffering by previous generations. If you go about eating following these principles, then you're guaranteed to be safe. Alright, let's call it a night. Head to sleep everyone, today's midnight snack is over. The Outer Sect disciples are still waiting for their soup." As he spoke, Big Fatty Choji began to fill the empty bowls with rice gruel.

Naruto's head was spinning, and he couldn't stop thinking about the six lines of truth he had just been told. He looked over at Big Fatty Choji and the others filling up the bowls, let out a burp, then squatted down to examine the bowls themselves. Then, his mouth turned up into a smile.

"Elder Brothers, these bowls are too nice."

Big Fatty Choji and the others looked back at him with strange expressions.

Looking as charming as ever, he chuckled and said, "At first glance, they don't look very big, but can actually hold a lot of food. Why don't we make them look big, but hold less food? For example, we could make the bottom of the bowls... thicker!"

Big Fatty Choji stared in shock, as though he had just been struck by lightning. His rolls of fat then began to quiver, and his eyes began to shine brightly. The other fatties began to pant, and their fat also began to tremble.

All of a sudden a loud smacking sound rang out as Big Fatty Choji slapped his thigh. Then he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Yes, yes, YES! That's an idea worth passing down! Future generations in the Ovens will all benefit from this! Ninth Junior Brother, I never imagined that someone as charming as you would actually be as crafty as this! Hahaha! You were born to be a part of the Ovens!"

Everyone was in a wonderful mood, and were extremely pleased with Naruto. Not only was he very charming, he seemed to have lots of crafty ideas. Big Fatty Choji decided that a reward was in order, and pressed a grain of spirit rice into Naruto's hand.

Naruto laughed happily as he staggered back to his room. Before he could climb in bed, all of the spiritual energy he had absorbed by eating the various precious materials suddenly burst out inside of him. His head spun, and he flopped face-first down onto the ground, where he immediately began snoring.

He slept wonderfully for the entire night. The following morning at dawn, when he opened his eyes, they shone brightly. He looked down to find that he was fatter than the day before. Furthermore, his skin was covered in a sticky layer of filth. When he hurried out to wash up, Big Fatty Choji and the others were preparing breakfast for the sect disciples. When they saw Naruto's bedraggled appearance, they started laughing.

"Ninth Junior Brother, all that filth comes from the impurities in your body. Once you get rid of it, it will be much easier for you to practice cultivation. Take a few days off, we won't need your help anyway. In a few days you can start working again."

"Don't forget about that grain of spirit rice! Eat it up quickly before it goes bad."

"Sure thing," Naruto replied. Feeling quite energetic, he returned to his room and grabbed the turtle-shaped wok off of the stove. After filling it with water from the washroom, he returned and put it back on the stove. Then he pulled out the grain of spirit rice to examine it. It was about the size of his thumb, crystalline in appearance, and fragrantly aromatic.

"If immortals eat this stuff, then it must be incredible." Sighing, he threw a few pieces of wood into the stove, then lit the fire. He was immediately hit by a blast of heat, which caused him to back up, blinking anxiously. Then he looked down at the fire and clicked his tongue.

"That's no ordinary fire. It lights faster and also burns a lot hotter than the fire in the village." Taking another look at the burning logs in the fire, he realized that they were not ordinary pieces of wood.

About this time, the fire began to burn even hotter than before, and Naruto watched in amazement as one of the designs etched into the back of the turtle shell wok began to light up, starting at what appeared to be the tail of the turtle shell and ending where the head would be. Soon, the entire design was shining brightly.

Naruto stared in amazement, then slapped his thigh.

"I knew it! This is some sort of treasure! It's definitely way better than Eldest Brother's wok!" More certain than ever that this wok was something extraordinary, Naruto quickly tossed the grain of spirit rice into the water.

Then he sat off to the side with the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art bamboo scroll. Emulating the movements and breathing techniques depicted in the first picture, he began to cultivate.

He had only just begun when, suddenly, his eyes went wide; the posture which had been so difficult to maintain just the day before, was now much easier to assume. In fact, he actually felt very comfortable, without the slightest sensation of awkwardness. In addition, the breathing technique no longer left him feeling as if he were suffocating. Instead, he felt a very pleasant sensation.

Furthermore, he was absolutely certain that before today he could only maintain the posture for about three or four breaths of time, but this time, after seven or eight breaths, he didn't feel the least bit of pain or discomfort.

Suppressing his excitement, Naruto calmly continued until thirty breaths of time had passed. Just when he was finally starting to feel weak and uncomfortable, a strand of Chakra suddenly appeared inside of him. It was very cold, and swirled around rapidly; before it could make a full circle through his body, it vanished. However, Naruto was so excited he leapt to his feet.

"Chakra! Hahaha! Finally some Chakra appeared!" Bursting with excitement, he began to pace back and forth in his room. He quickly came to the conclusion that it must have something to do with all the precious materials he had consumed the previous night. Suddenly he wished he had eaten more.

"No wonder Elder Brother Choji would rather starve to death in the Ovens than go climb the ladder in the Outer Sect. Not even the Outer Sect disciples would have opportunities like this." Sitting down anxiously, he once again began to practice cultivation.

This time, he was able to maintain the posture and breathing for a full sixty breaths of time. At that point, a flow of Chakra appeared in him, almost a trickle, that rapidly circulated through his body.

Having experienced this once before, he was ready, and began to guide the Chakra through a specific path, as indicated by the first picture in the bamboo scroll.

Soon, the Chakra was flowing through him in just the way he wanted. He maintained the posture and movements indicated in the first illustration, and as he did, he could sense streams of coldness emerging from various parts of his body, almost like drops of water, which merged into the Chakra flow, causing it to grow larger and larger.

In the end, it was like a tiny stream, flowing in a continuous cycle. A tremor ran through him, and it was as if a layer of fog had suddenly been stripped away from his mind. A rumbling sound echoed out from his body.

He suddenly felt lighter and more agile than before. At the same time, globules of filth were expelled from the pores all over his body.

Unlike last time, the stream of Chakra inside of him didn't vanish, but instead, remained there, circulating through his body. Naruto opened his eyes, and they shone even more brightly than before. His mind even seemed to move a bit quicker and his body felt lighter and faster.

"A permanent Chakra vessel," he thought excitedly. "That's the sign that I've successfully cultivated the first level of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art! It also means that I've reached that, what's it called...? The first level of Chakra Condensation!" Naruto was overjoyed, and immediately ran to the washroom.

When Big Fatty Choji and the others saw him, they exchanged knowing glances. Although they were a bit surprised that Naruto had reached the first level so quickly, they all knew why it had happened.

After returning to his room, Naruto took a deep breath, and then began to study the bamboo scroll more thoroughly.

"After cultivating the first level of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, I should be able to control physical objects. Wow, this is basically an immortal magical technique. I should be able to shoot things through the air." Eyes shining, he followed the instructions prescribed in the scroll, moving both hands together in a special way to perform an incantation. Then, he waved his finger at the nearby desk. Instantly, the stream inside of him surged like a bucking bronco, racing toward his right index finger and then out through the tip of his finger.

It turned into something like an invisible thread, which then attached itself to the nearby desk. However, almost as soon as it reached the desk, the connection grew unstable, and the thread disintegrated.

Naruto's face went pale. After a moment of recuperation, he reviewed what he had just done, then decided to give up on moving the desk. Instead, he pulled out the wooden sword from his bag and placed it on top of the desk. He wasn't sure what type of wood the sword was made from, but despite being much lighter than the desk, it still seemed unusually heavy. He waved his finger toward it, and the wooden sword twitched, then slowly floated an inch up into the air before falling back down onto the desk.

Naruto was anything but discouraged. After a few more excited attempts, he was able to get the sword to rise higher and higher. Soon it was ten inches, then twenty, then thirty... By the time dusk fell, he could get the wooden sword to fly in a straight line. Although it wasn't very fast, and he couldn't quite make it turn, it wouldn't fall down as easily as it had when he first started practicing.

"Henceforth, I, Naruto, am an immortal!" He rose proudly to his feet, held his left hand behind his back, and then waved his right hand, causing the wooden sword to fly unsteadily back and forth in his room.

Eventually, his Chakra began to grow unstable, so he put the wooden sword away and continued to practice cultivation. Later, he caught wind of a fragrant aroma coming from the wok, causing him to raise his head and take a deep sniff. Suddenly feeling ravenous, he realized that he had been busy cultivating all day, and had completely forgotten about the spirit rice boiling in the wok. He immediately walked over and lifted the lid to look inside.

The moment he did, the strong, fragrant aroma of spirit rice wafted out. Furthermore, at some point during the process, a brilliant, glowing silver design had appeared on the surface of the rice!

The design was clearly visible, and when Naruto looked at it closely, he suddenly felt lost within the light. After a while, though, the design began to fade. He narrowed his eyes, and after some more thought, picked up the grain of spirit rice and held it in his hand for a closer look.

"That design looks really familiar..." His eyes flickered with a thoughtful gleam. He ducked his head to look under the stove, and saw that the fire had long since burned out. The pieces of wood were nothing more than ash now, and the design on the wok had once again faded into obscurity.

However, he could still tell that the silver design on the grain of rice was the same design as the one on the back of the wok.

He decided not to continue to investigate the design, and to be safe, chose not to eat the rice for the time being. Instead, he put it into his bag, sat there for a moment in contemplation, then left his hut to help Big Fatty Choji and the others.

Before long, half a month had passed. Naruto's cultivation progress had once again slowed down. However, after some discreet inquiries, he learned that silver designs never appeared on spirit rice when it was cooked.

His curiosity had definitely been piqued. The more he learned about it, the more it seemed that there was something special about this particular grain of rice, not to mention his wok, which seemed even stranger. A few days later, Third Fatty Kuro left the Ovens to go purchase supplies, giving Naruto the perfect opportunity to sneak into the Four Seas Room, a place where servants could get general information about cultivation.

On his way back to his hut, he did his best to conceal the excitement which filled his heart. After closing the door behind him, he immediately took out the grain of spirit rice and studied the silver design. Gradually, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

"When immortals practice cultivation, there are three skills they can't do without. The first is medicine concocting, the second is equipment forging, and the third is spirit enhancement!" Naruto thought back to the images he had dug up when searching through the ancient records in the Four Seas Room. One of them had closely resembled the silver design that was now visible on the grain of rice.

"Spirit enhancement!" After a moment, he took a long, deep breath.

Spirit enhancement was a special technique in which the energy of heaven and earth was forced into physical objects. It was a type of magic that essentially replaced the natural functions of nature, a technique which could be used on medicinal pills, incense, or magical items. Unfortunately, it was forbidden by heaven and earth, ensuring that the rate of success was limited. A success would lead to the item being vastly more powerful. A failure would result in the spiritual energy of the item becoming completely useless.

The most shocking thing about spirit enhancement was that it could be performed over and over again. Every success increased the effects of the spirit enhancement by tenfold, leading to heaven-shaking, earth-toppling transformations.

Of course, the more precious the item was to begin with, the more terrifying the results of success would be.

Unsurprisingly, the chances of success decreased with each enhancement. In fact, after a certain point, even some spirit enhancement grandmasters wouldn't dare to go any further. After all, the ramifications of a failure in that case would be difficult to accept.

"The ancient records said that the Spirit Stream Sect's guardian treasure is an item that was somehow enhanced ten times by spirit enhancement. The Heavenhorn Sword!" Naruto's throat felt dry. Eyes shining with disbelief and confusion, he swallowed and looked over at the turtle-shaped wok. There were ten faint decorative lines on the back of it, and when he looked at them, his heart began to beat so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

As of this moment, he was sure that the design which had appeared on the spirit rice was a mark of spirit enhancement. Furthermore, the source of that design was none other than his wok!

After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth. If he didn't get to the bottom of this mystery, he wouldn't be able to sleep. He knew for a fact that this wok was something extraordinary, and therefore, he couldn't let anyone in on his secret.

He waited until it was late in the night, then very quietly tip-toed over to the wok. After taking a deep breath and trying not to think about what would happen if he failed, he pulled out his wooden sword and threw it inside, the same way he had thrown the grain of rice in.


	2. Chapter 2

After waiting for what seemed like forever, nothing unusual happened. Naruto looked thoughtfully at the patterns on the turtle-wok, and then looked down into the stove itself. Nothing remained of the wood but ash so he left, to return a few minutes later with some more firewood.

Firewood for personal use wasn't very common in the Ovens, so he'd been forced to go find Big Fatty Choji to make a special request for some more.

After kindling the fire, Naruto once again focused on the first design on the turtle-wok. As the wood burned, the design lit up. Naruto's heart began to thump with excitement, and then suddenly, the wooden sword began to shine with blinding silver light.

He backed up a few paces, after which the light slowly faded away, and a piercing sensation began to emanate out from inside the wok.

He took a deep breath and carefully sidled up to the wok. The wooden sword, just like the grain of spirit rice, now had a bright silver design on it, which gradually faded to a deep silver color!

The sword appeared different than before. Although it was still made of wood, it now seemed more like it was made from metal. Naruto's eyes lit up as he carefully took the sword out of the wok. It felt heavier, and also emanated a certain coldness.

"It worked! My first spirit enhancement on the wooden sword worked!" Naruto fondled the sword ecstatically, then glanced over at the wok and tried to decide what to do with it. In the end, he decided to just leave it where it was. The more he treated it like an ordinary item, the less likely it was that anyone would pay attention to it.

As for the spirit rice, he decided to eat it bit by bit over time. He would also be careful to not let anyone see the wooden sword. As an added measure, he came up with the idea of somehow painting over the glowing design.

Finally, he tidied his room, then walked out nonchalantly, as if nothing unusual had occurred. Over the next few days, he collected some various liquid materials from the Ovens which he used to paint the sword, making it bright and colorful, albeit somewhat unsightly. The most important thing was that the spirit design was covered up well enough that it wasn't obvious. In the end, Naruto nodded his head in satisfaction.

As the days passed, Naruto became as comfortable with life in the Ovens as a fish in water. He quickly fit in with the other Elder Brothers, and also became familiar with the work that went on there. He soon found that different types of fire were necessary for cooking different spirit foods. In fact, the different types of fire were described in terms of color; there were one-colored flames, two-colored flames, and so on. The wood he had used earlier to heat the turtle-wok had been one-colored firewood.

Big Fatty Choji began to grow especially fond of Naruto, and took special care of him. Furthermore, just as he'd said, after a few months passed, Naruto was starting to gain weight.

He was no longer the scrawny kid he had been when he had first joined the sect. He was fatter, but at the same time, his skin was also fairer and clearer than before. He also looked more harmless than ever, and was clearly reaching the point of being deserving of the title Ninth Fatty Naruto.

He also experienced the special snack-time arrangement on more than one occasion. However, what Naruto found especially frustrating was that, despite gaining weight, his cultivation seemed to progress as slowly as ever. Eventually, he stopped worrying about that and spent most of his time eating and drinking with his Elder Brothers. Life was good. As the months passed, he heard bits of gossip about recent events in the Spirit Stream Sect.

In addition, Big Fatty Choji taught him more about the sect in general. He learned that the sect disciples were divided into the Inner and Outer Sects. Any servant who could practice cultivation all the way to the third level of Chakra Condensation would be able to challenge one of the trials by fire, which were paths that existed on the various mountain peaks in the sect. A servant who passed the trial by fire could join that mountain peak as an Outer Sect disciple. Only by becoming an Outer Sect disciple could anyone truly become a part of the Spirit Stream Sect.

However, accomplishing such a feat would count as a stunning accomplishment, and would be equivalent to the old saying about the fish leaping over the dragon gate. Only the top three competitors in the monthly trials by fire would be accepted, meaning that the number of people who could become an Outer Sect disciple was limited.

On one particular day, Seventh Fatty had been scheduled to go out and purchase supplies, but ended up being busy with some other matters. As a result, Big Fatty Choji called for Naruto and told him to stand in for Seventh Fatty. Naruto hesitated for a moment, recalling the incident with Sora from a few months before. Although it probably wasn't anything to worry about, he couldn't shake his anxiety. Before leaving, he went back to his room and collected eight meat cleavers and also donned six long leather coats. By the time he was finished getting dressed, he looked like a round ball.

However, he also felt much safer, which was the important thing. The last thing he did was strap his wok onto his back, leaving him feeling very safe. He then staggered out of the Ovens and down the mountain.

As he walked along the green limestone paths in the sect, he gazed around at the beautiful buildings and courtyards, and began to feel prouder than ever.

"How time flies!" he mused, clasping his hands behind his back. "Life is like a dream. I, Naruto, have only spent a few months practicing cultivation. However, as I think back to the mortal world, and my life in the village, it fills my eyes with tears." He walked along with eight meat cleavers hanging from his belt, a wok on his back, and multiple layers of clothing, looking very much like a dilapidated toy ball. Occasionally, he would encounter other servants, who would stare at him out of the corners of their eyes as he passed.

There were even a few female disciples who couldn't help but laugh out loud when they saw him. They covered their mouths with their hands, and the sound of their laughter was like silver bells, clear and melodious.

Face slightly flushed, Naruto couldn't help but feel even more impressive than ever. Clearing his throat, he stuck his chest out and continued to saunter along.

Before too much time had passed, and before he had even left the third peak's servants' district, he noticed that quite a few servants were rushing off into the distance, looking very excited. They appeared to be heading in the direction of the path that led up to the top of the third peak, a place where Outer Sect disciples often congregated.

More and more servants began running over in that direction, looking very excited. Surprised by the scene, Naruto quickly grabbed a scrawny servant who happened to be running by.

"Junior Brother, what's going on?" Naruto asked quizzically. "Why is everyone running over there?"

The young man looked over angrily, but then saw the black wok on Naruto's back, and his expression turned envious.

"I didn't realize you were from the Ovens, Elder Brother. Why don't you come along? Two Chosen from the Outer Sect, Izumo and Kotetsu, are fighting it out in the trial by fire arena. Supposedly, the two of them have a beef with each other. Whatever happens, they're both at the sixth level of Chakra Condensation, so we should be able to learn a bit by watching them, and maybe even gain some enlightenment." Finishing his explanation, the young man hurried off, apparently worried about missing out on any of the action.

Feeling very curious, Naruto set off in a hurry, following the flow of people as they left the servants' district and headed to the foot of the third peak, where a large raised platform could be seen.

The platform was about 3,000 meters wide, and was surrounded by a crowd of servants. There were even people watching from positions further up on the mountain, all of whom wore resplendent clothing, and were clearly Outer Sect disciples.

Two young men occupied the platform, both of whom wore extravagant outfits. One of them had a scar running down his face, the other had skin as white as jade. The two of them were fighting back and forth, causing booming sounds to echo out.

The glow of magical items surrounded both of them. Floating in front of the scar-faced youth was a small flag that fluttered of its own volition, as if some invisible hand were waving it. The swirling flag formed the shape of a mist tiger, which let out deafening roars.

The jade-faced youth danced back and forth as he fought. He had a small blue sword which whistled through the air, leaving behind streaks of light.

When Naruto saw the sword flying about, he gasped. Although he could control his own wooden sword in a similar way, it would be impossible to even compare his level of skill with that of the jade-faced young man.

What was even more remarkable was how the two young men didn't seem to be holding anything back. Killing intent roiled off of them, and within a short time, numerous deadly situations arose. Both were heavily wounded, and despite the fact that the wounds weren't critical, it was still a shocking sight.

This was Naruto's first time seeing cultivators fighting, and it was very different from how he had imagined immortals would look when they fought. The cruel and vicious way they attacked each other left his heart pounding in fear.

"Immortal cultivation... isn't just about living forever? What's this fighting and killing all about? What if I end up losing my poor little life...?" Naruto swallowed nervously as he watched the scar-faced youth's mist tiger lunging voraciously at the other young man. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Naruto suddenly realized that the outside world was a very dangerous place; it was probably a much better idea to stay back in the Ovens where it was safe.

Having reached this conclusion, he began to hurry off when, all of a sudden, he heard someone shouting his name.

"Naruto!"

He turned his head and saw the author of the blood notice, Sora, hurrying in his direction, a vicious expression on his face. A wooden sword floated next to him, glittering with an unusual light that clearly surpassed the first level of Chakra Condensation. As the sword flew along, it left a streak of light in its wake, and sent a formidable spirit pressure emanating out.

When Naruto saw that wooden sword heading in his direction, his eyes went wide, and an intense sense of deadly crisis welled up in him.

"He's gonna kill me!" he thought.

Instantly, he began to run in the opposite direction, screaming: "Murder! Murder!"

The other servants in the area all heard, and looked over in shock. The cries were so loud that even Izumo and Kotetsu stopped fighting.

In fact, even Sora was unnerved by the screams. He had obviously just yelled Naruto's name and then started to chase him. His sword hadn't even touched Naruto, and yet Naruto was screaming as though he had been stabbed repeatedly.

Sora hated Naruto so much his gums itched. Face ashen, he ran after him, shouting: "Come on, Naruto, you know how to fight! What are you running away for!?"

"If I knew how to fight, why would I be running away, you moron!? I would have killed you a long time ago! Murder! Murder!" Naruto's screams grew even louder as he fled in the opposite direction like a fat little bunny.

Meanwhile, in a building which jutted out into the air at the very peak of the mountain, two men were in the middle of playing a game of Go. One was middle-aged, the other was an old man. The middle-aged man was none other than Taruho. As for the old man, he had a full head of white hair, and a ruddy complexion. His eyes glittered brightly, and he was clearly no ordinary individual. Currently, he was looking down at the scene playing out down below.

Chuckling, he said, "What an interested child you brought back to the sect, Taruho."

"How embarrassing, sect leader. The kid's personality definitely needs a lot more work." Feeling a headache coming on, Taruho placed his game piece onto the board and then shook his head.

"The kids in the Ovens are pretty stuck up, and yet this kid fits right in," scoffed the old man, stroking his beard. "Not an easy task. Hmm..."

The sound of Naruto's screams undulated through the air beneath the third peak, catching the astonished attention of numerous servants. All of them could clearly see Naruto, black wok on his back, wearing several layers of clothing, running at breakneck speed through the servants' district. He looked like a fat, round ball.

From a distance, it was difficult to actually make out Naruto himself, but you would definitely see the black wok, which made him look almost like a beetle as he flew along.

Then there were the eight meat cleavers that hung from his belt, which clashed and clanked as he fled.

"Murder!" he hollered as he ran, picking up speed. "Someone save me! I don't want to die..."

Sora was hot on his tail, face ashen, eyes gleaming ferociously and heart filled with both anxiety and rage.

Chasing Naruto this way was catching quite a bit of attention from the servants, and Sora was worried that the honor guard might notice. The nervousness in his heart continued to grow.

"Quit screeching, dammit!" Sora raged. "Quiet down! What are you screaming for? Shut up!" Gritting his teeth, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the wooden sword to flicker with light and then shoot toward the fleeing Naruto.

A clang rang out as the wooden sword slammed into Naruto's black wok. As the noise echoed out, Naruto continued running as if nothing had happened.

Sora gnashed his teeth. The big wok on Naruto's back covered nearly half of his body, making it very difficult to hit him. However, feeling that he had little other choice, Sora continued to give chase.

And so they raced through the servants' district, Naruto leading the way, Sora running behind him.

"This guy is pretty fast, even with that wok on his back!" thought Sora, huffing and puffing as he fell further behind in the chase. His cultivation base was at the second level of Chakra Condensation, and he was running as hard as he could. However, Naruto was running with the passion of a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on. No matter what Sora did, he couldn't catch up.

More horrifying was that he was starting to get tired, and yet hadn't even laid a finger on his opponent. In contrast, Naruto didn't seem to be the least bit tired at all, and was also screaming like a pig at the slaughterhouse.

Soon, Naruto caught sight of the little path leading to the Ovens, and his eyes glittered with excitement. He suddenly felt as though he were arriving home, and the sensation was so moving that he almost cried.

"Elder Brother, save me!" he cried. "He's trying to murder me!" A trail of dust rose into the air behind him as he ran toward the Ovens at breakneck speed. Big Fatty Choji and the others heard his screaming and hurried out, shocked expressions on their faces.

"Elder Brother, save me! Sora is trying to kill me! My poor little life is on the line!" Naruto quickly scrambled behind Big Fatty Choji.

Big Fatty Choji's eyes gleamed with a ferocious light as he looked around vigilantly, but he saw no one.

"Sora?" he asked. It was at this point that Sora finally appeared, huffing and puffing as he ran down the path toward the Ovens.

When Naruto realized how far behind Sora was, a quizzical expression appeared on his face.

"Eee? Why is he running so slowly?"

Big Fatty Choji looked at Naruto, and then back at the panting Sora. The motion caused the fat on his face to quiver a bit.

Sora had expended a lot of effort in the chase, so as he neared the Ovens and then heard what Naruto said, he was filled with so much rage that he felt like he was about to explode. With a roar, he waved his right hand, sending his wooden sword stabbing toward a nearby tree.

A bang could be heard, and the tree quivered as the sword pierced through it, leaving behind a gaping hole.

"Naruto," he cried, "our differences are irreconcilable!" His eyes were completely bloodshot as he glared at Naruto, and then the hulking Big Fatty Choji. Finally, he turned angrily and began to stalk off back down the path.

Naruto's heart was pounding as he looked at the hole in the tree. Then he looked back at the fuming Sora, and swallowed hard as an uneasy feeling rose up in his heart.

Big Fatty Choji looked at Sora's retreating figure, and his eyes flickered with a sinister gleam. Then he patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ninth Junior Brother. Sora might have some good connections in the sect, but if he dares show his face here again, we Elder Brothers will cut off one of his legs!" Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, though, his tone changed. "Although, it would probably be best if you didn't leave the Ovens, Ninth Junior Brother. You're looking a bit skinny, I think I should fatten you up a bit. After all, Elder Obito is celebrating his decade-birthday in a few days."

Naruto nodded his head absentmindedly as he stared at the hole Sora's wooden sword had left in the tree.

He then followed his Elder Brothers back into the Ovens. Later, he sat in his room, brooding and feeling more uneasy than ever. The fact that his opponent could send a wooden sword through a tree meant that if it had hit him, he would definitely be a corpse now.

"This isn't gonna work, not unless I plan on staying inside the Ovens for the rest of my life. What if he catches me next time I go out...?" Naruto just couldn't stop thinking about the venomous look Sora had cast his way before leaving.

"I came here to live forever, not to die..." The feeling of insecurity and anxiety caused Naruto's eyes to slowly become shot with blood. After a long moment passed, he gritted his teeth.

"Fudge! I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna go all-out! I'm gonna go so all-out that I'll terrify myself, let alone everyone else!" His eyes were now completely bloodshot. Instead of saying that Naruto was the type of person who was afraid of dying, it would be more accurate to say that he was simply insecure. The ordeal he had just gone through had only served to stoke his determination.

"I'm gonna practice cultivation! I'm gonna get stronger!" Naruto's breath came in ragged pants as he made his decision. He pulled out the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art bamboo scroll, opened it up to the second illustration, and then immediately began to practice cultivation.

He was afraid of dying, but he was also viciously persistent. Were he not, he would never have been able to light that stick of incense thirteen times throughout the years, despite the threat of the lightning.

Grinning with vicious determination, he assumed the posture in the second illustration, tenaciously maintaining the pose. Before, he had only been able to last for about ten breaths of time, but this time, he actually lasted for fifteen.

He ended up wracked with pain, forehead dripping with great drops of sweat. However, the vicious gleam in his eye didn't fade. Soon, he was able to last for twenty breaths of time, then thirty. The small stream that was the Chakra vessel in his body was now ten percent complete. Gasping for breath, vision fading to black, he finally rested for a moment, then started cultivating again.

The night passed relatively uneventfully. Soon it was the next day. And the day after that. And yet another day... Eventually fifteen days went by. Other than eating and visiting the restroom, Naruto never left his room. To someone who had just begun the practice of cultivation, such tediousness was usually difficult to endure. However, Naruto didn't even come close to giving up.

Big Fatty Choji and the others were shocked by his relentless practice of cultivation. It must be stated that cultivating the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art was no easy task. In principle, it was relatively simple. However, the postures that had to be maintained to reach the various levels all led to unimaginable pain, and therefore required incredible perseverance. Normally speaking, the servants in the sect would give up after only a few days of trying to cultivate it.

Therefore, when Big Fatty Choji and the others saw Naruto continue to cultivate it for more than half a month, they felt like they were observing an entirely different person than the one they had met a few months ago.

His clothes grew wrinkled, his hair became disheveled, his eyes were completely bloodshot. He seemed completely bedraggled, and at the same time, completely focused. Regardless of the pain he felt, he never gave up.

Another thing that happened was that he began to lose some of the fat he had built up. At the same time, the spirit pressure he radiated increased by more than fifty percent. He was now very close to the great circle of the first level of Chakra Condensation.

Apparently, all of the precious materials he had eaten had built up in his fat. By practicing cultivation in the way he was, it was forcing those items to materialize as part of his cultivation base. It also ended up making his body tougher than the average person.

"Ninth Junior Brother, why don't you take a break? You've been practicing cultivation nonstop for more than half a month." Big Fatty Choji and the others tried to persuade him to stop. However, when he looked up at them, they saw a gleam of determination in his eyes that left them shaken.

Time passed. Soon, Naruto had been practicing cultivation like mad for a full month. Big Fatty Choji and the others were shocked. In fact, Big Fatty Choji even said, "He's not cultivating, he's killing himself!"

By this point in his cultivation, Naruto could hold the pose in the second illustration for longer than 100 breaths of time. Soon, he reached 150 breaths of time. The spiritual energy inside of him was not a small stream any more. It was far, far larger than that.

Another month passed. Big Fatty Choji and the others trembled in fear, worried that Naruto really was killing himself from working too hard. Even as they were working up a plan to go get rid of Sora, a huge rumbling could be heard coming from Naruto's hut.

As the sound echoed about, the spirit pressure of the second level of Chakra Condensation erupted out from the hut, spreading for dozens of meters in all directions. As soon as Big Fatty Choji and the others sensed it, they looked up with expressions of shock.

"Little Junior Brother has broken through!"

"The second level of Chakra Condensation! He hasn't even partaken of the Ovens' snack arrangement for more than half a year, and he's already reached the second level of Chakra Condensation! That's pretty rare!"

"It took me a whole year to reach the second level of Chakra Condensation..." Even as they were making exclamations of shock, a crash could be heard as Naruto's door opened, and he burst out, looking exhausted and disheveled. However, his eyes were glittering brightly.

Big Fatty Choji and the others were just about to hurry over to offer congratulations when Naruto flashed through the air and nimbly landed on the bamboo fence that surrounded the Ovens. He clasped his hands behind his back and tilted his head up proudly, looking off into the distance with a profound gleam in his eyes. He looked every bit like a proud, lonesome hero.

Big Fatty Choji and the others exchanged dismayed glances.

"What is he standing there for? He looks so weird..."

"Did little Junior Brother... get possessed or something?"

Almost as soon as they looked over at Naruto and his odd appearance, they heard his voice echoing out, sounding proud and wise.

"Sora is a consummate Chosen among the servants of the Spirit Stream Sect, matchlessly vicious, and famous far and wide. His cultivation base is even in the terrifying second level of Chakra Condensation. However, my cultivation base is also in the second level of Chakra Condensation. A fight between us will be an even match. It will likely be a fight talked about in all the lands, a battle that will shake the entire sect. However, it must be fought, no matter how much blood and gore flows, no matter how many bones are shattered and tendons... wait a second. No, this battle is far, far too important. I have to keep practicing cultivation!"

Having finished speaking, Naruto looked around for a moment, then flicked his sleeve and returned to his room. The door slammed shut behind him as he began another session of secluded meditation. Big Fatty Choji and the others swallowed hard, and exchanged glances. Finally, Third Fatty Kuro said, "Don't tell me we gave Junior Brother some spoiled food?"

Second Fatty Chikara shivered and replied, "Oh no! This is bad! Junior Brother is drunk on spiritual energy! He's gone crazy from cultivation... We mustn't provoke him now!"

In the following days, Big Fatty Choji and the others kept a constant eye out on Naruto's thatched hut. As for Naruto, breaking through to the second level of Chakra Condensation gave him quite a boost in self-confidence, and he continued to focus on cultivation.

Currently, he was in his room, wiping the sweat from his brow. He was buck naked, gritting his teeth against the pain as he tried to maintain the posture of the third image in the bamboo scroll.

His Chakra vessel was no longer a flowing stream, but rather, a small river. It flowed through his body, and with every rotation, cracking sounds would emanate out from inside of him. His previously rotund body was now thin once again, and in fact, he was even thinner than when he had first arrived in the Ovens.

However, there seemed to be energy building up in his body. As he continued to practice cultivation, the flesh and muscle that covered his skinny frame pulsed with power. In fact, if you listened carefully, you would even be able to hear the sound of his heartbeat echoing about in his room.

More and more spirit pressure was condensing inside of him, filling Naruto with a feeling of increasing power. After several more days passed, the pain increased to point where it was simply too much, and he had to give up.

He was left panting, eyes completely bloodshot. He had the strong feeling that he simply couldn't continue on this way. Although he naturally absorbed the spiritual power of heaven and earth while cultivating, that flow simply couldn't keep up with how much power he was wasting. Furthermore, the Ovens' snack arrangement wasn't a regular occurrence, and only happened on lucky occasions.

Most other people cultivated the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art by practicing it once every few days. Even people who were more devoted would only practice it once per day. In contrast, Naruto had been practicing nonstop. It was no small wonder that Big Fatty Choji and the others were shocked. In fact, many Inner Sect disciples would have been astonished to hear about what he was doing.

However, having reached this level of cultivation still left Naruto feeling insecure and uneasy. After all, he was the type of person who would rather be safe than sorry. Finally, he pulled out the grain of spirit rice that he had enhanced and looked at it for a long moment before using an ordinary wok to cook it up. After the spiritual energy began to waft out of it, he quickly gobbled it down.

As soon as the spirit rice entered his mouth, it turned into a thick blast of spiritual energy that was exponentially more powerful than ordinary spirit rice. In fact, the two types couldn't even be considered to be on the same level. As the rumbling sounds echoed out inside of him, he began to practice cultivation. He instantly assumed the posture in the third illustration, and at the same time, began to regulate his breathing.

Half a month later, deep in the night, a tremor ran through Naruto, and he opened his eyes. He suddenly realized that at some indeterminable point, he had actually broken through from the second level of Chakra Condensation to the third level.

This development caused him to go wild with joy. Excitement filled his eyes, and he began to laugh uproariously. Examining himself, he realized that the Chakra vessel inside of him had thoroughly transformed into a small river.

The small river circulated through his body at high speed, moving far, far faster than it had before. In fact, he could even send the spiritual energy around to different parts of his body, all with a simple thought.

"The third level of Chakra Condensation! That spirit enhancement was incredible!" He rose to his feet, licking his lips at the thought of producing another spirit-enhanced grain of spirit rice. However, it was at this point that he remembered something the bamboo scroll had mentioned about the growth of internal meridians. Right now, he needed to let his body adapt to the expanded meridians, and temporarily couldn't continue to practice cultivation.

Putting his idea about the spirit rice on the back burner, he walked out of his room, all the while looking extremely proud of himself. However, almost as soon as he set foot out the door, he caught sight of the little path outside of the Ovens, and the tree with the hole in it. Although it was late at night, the tree was clearly visible in the moonlight.

"This won't do. Sora's wooden sword is obviously beyond ordinary. Even being in the third level of Chakra Condensation won't guarantee my safety!" Frowning, he stood there in thought for a moment before taking out his own multi-colored wooden sword. Then he looked back at the wok inside his room.

"I think I'll feel a bit more confident if I do a second spirit enhancement," he thought. Without any further hesitation, he retrieved some of the Ovens' spirit wood.

After getting fully prepared, he stood in front of his mysterious wok and kindled the fire. Once the design on the wok lit up, he tossed the wooden sword inside.

However, after waiting for quite some time, there didn't seem to be any reaction. Naruto frowned and looked at the design on the turtle-wok, then glanced down and realized that the fire had already burned out. Nothing but ash remained of the wood. Muttering to himself, he went out to find some more spirit wood. However, after burning several more batches, he didn't see any difference in the wooden sword.

"These pieces of firewood are all for one-colored flames," he thought. "Maybe that's just not hot enough. Maybe I need the heat... of a two-colored flame?" He left his room again and found a piece of violet-colored firewood, which was relatively rare in the Ovens. In fact, after searching for a while, he could only find a single piece.

After kindling it, the flame appeared, a two-colored flame that was far hotter than a one-colored flame!

Almost as soon as the two-colored flame touched the surface of the turtle-wok, the second design began to shine brightly. As for the flame itself, it rapidly began to fade away; apparently the power of the flame was being sucked away. Soon, the two-colored flame had burned out, leaving behind nothing but ash. However, the turtle-wok's second design was now shining brightly.

"It worked!" he thought, eyes shining. He quickly put the wooden sword back inside, whereupon silver light began to shimmer. This time, it lasted for several breaths of time longer than the first time he had done the spirit enhancement.

The light began to dim, but then, it suddenly flared up and shot directly toward Naruto. This sudden change occurred so quickly that he couldn't even react. His vision swam with light as an indescribably cold sensation washed through him. It almost felt as if he were being frozen over. There was nothing he could do to stop it from happening; it felt as if the coldness was viciously grabbing at his insides.

His face went pale, and his vision blurred. It was as if something inside of him was being sucked out and merged into the turtle-wok.

Finally, the silver light faded away, and within the wok, the wooden sword appeared, sharper than ever. In fact, it was so sharp that looking at it hurt the eyes.

Although it was still painted gaudily, the veins of the wood inside had already changed. If you scraped away the paint, you would find that they seemed to be filled with starlight, as if the sword had been thoroughly and completely transformed.

In virtually the same moment as the new wooden sword appeared, thunder crackled in the air above the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. It was almost as if the Heavens were rumbling in rage, causing shock to rise up in the hearts of countless cultivators in the Spirit Stream Sect. However, almost as soon as the thunder crackled out, it was gone.

As the thunder was booming, a second silver design appeared on the wooden sword. After flickering for a moment, the design faded away into the gaudy paint.

Naruto, however, couldn't even look at the sword. He staggered backward, a grim look on his face. After a long moment passed, he recovered his composure, although fear still lingered in his heart.

"What did it suck out of me...?" he thought, nervously looking at his reflection in the copper mirror on the wall. After examining himself closely for a moment, he rubbed his eyes, then gaped at his reflection, looking as shocked as a wooden chicken.

There in the mirror, he could see that at the very top of his forehead was a white hair. Although his face didn't look any different, he couldn't shake the feeling that the white hair made him look at least a year older.

"My lifespan!" he murmured, aghast.

"Just now, my lifespan was reduced. My... my..." He wanted to cry, but no tears would come. His whole purpose in learning about cultivation was to live forever. Now, instead of reaching the goal of living forever, he had actually lost one year of his lifespan, which was a huge blow.

"Screwed... How could I ever have imagined that I, Naruto, would be so careful in life, only to end up screwing myself like this..." He sat there in a daze for a while before finally chuckling bitterly. After calming himself down, he looked back at the turtle-wok, whereupon a strange gleam gradually rose in his eyes. For some reason, after having some of his longevity sucked away, it now felt like there was some sort of connection between him and the wok, as if he could actually control it now.

Heart thumping, he extended his hand and pointed a finger at it.

The turtle-wok immediately flickered, shrank down, and flew toward Naruto. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the tip of his finger. Eyes wide with shock, Naruto leapt to his feet and backed up a few steps. He looked down at his finger, and then back at the empty stove.

"This... this..." He pointed his finger down at the ground, and a black gleam of light flashed, and a clanking sound rang out as the wok appeared once more.

After experimenting a few more times, his expression flickered from grim, to delighted, to mournful. Finally, he sighed.

"Well, I can suck this thing into my body, but the price I had to pay was a year of longevity. How come it still seems like I screwed myself?"

The next day at noon, Naruto was trying to figure out a way to get back the longevity which had been sucked away from him. He was in the middle of doing some research when, all of a sudden, he looked up. He had just sensed that there were eight people heading toward the entrance of the Ovens.

That was something he would never have been able to detect when only in the first level of Chakra Condensation. However, now that he was in the third level, he could instantly sense that one of the eight people was none other than Sora.

Almost at the same time, Sora's voice suddenly rang out, filled with fury and hatred.

"Naruto, you have Elder Brothers to protect you, but so do I! Today, the enmity between the two of us is going to end permanently!"

As soon as he realized that Sora was coming, Naruto shot to his feet.

"Well, he came sooner than expected..." he thought, his eyes flickering with hesitation. Although he had done everything he could to prepare in the last half-year or so, he still didn't feel ready. As far as he was concerned, the best option would have been to go into the conflict in the fourth level of Chakra Condensation. Only then would he have felt safe.

Seeing that Sora had come with a group of seven others, Naruto knew that hiding wasn't an option. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine! I'm gonna go for it!"

Taking a deep breath, he quickly donned eight leather coats, and then attached his backup wok to his back. Only then did he nervously open his door and step out.

The first thing he saw was Big Fatty Choji and the others out by the front gate, hefting meat cleavers and huge kitchen ladles as they blocked the path of Sora and his friends.

"I was wondering why I heard the crows squawking this morning," Big Fatty Choji roared, his voice echoing like thunder as he stood there, tall and mountain-like. "As it turns out, a bunch of brats from the Supervisors' Department decided to come cause a scene here in the Ovens!"

"Other people might be scared of the Ovens, Big Fatty Choji, but the Supervisors' Department doesn't give a crap about you. We received a complaint from Junior Brother Xu, and we're here with the authority of the Supervisors' Department. Do you really dare to resist us?" Seven arrogant-looking men clustered around Sora. Although they wore servant uniforms, their sleeves were conspicuously embroidered with the character 'Supervisor,' indicating that they were from the Supervisors' Department, and had a status and power beyond ordinary servants.

One of the men was a burly fellow who looked as tough as a tiger and as sturdy as a bear. He emanated the spirit pressure of the third level of Chakra Condensation, and his eyes glittered coldly as he stared at Big Fatty Choji. Apparently, he didn't seem fazed at all by Big Fatty Choji and the others.

"Hogwash!" replied Big Fatty Choji. "He was trying to kill my Junior Brother. How do you explain that!?" He then laughed coldly as his hand whistled through the air, causing the big black wok on his back to suddenly fly up into the air, looking completely majestic. The burly man's cohorts looked on with flickering expressions, and as for the burly man himself, his eyes widened. Then his hand flashed in an incantation gesture, causing a small flag to fly out. Mist poured out of the flag, from within which the roaring of a wild beast could be heard.

Even as the figurative swords were being drawn, Sora saw Naruto stepping out of his thatched hut, and all his previous rancor and hatred erupted inside of him.

"Naruto!" he roared.

As soon as the words left Sora's mouth, he waved his hand, sending his wooden sword flying out.

Looks of shock could be seen on the faces of Big Fatty Choji and the others. Just as they were about to leap to stop the wooden sword, the burly man from the Supervisors' Department laughed coldly and blocked their path.

However, it was in that same instant that Naruto, eyes bloodshot, roared, "Sora, you've pushed things too far! You and I are going to go all out!"

Naruto's heart was pounding. He had never actually been in a fight in his entire life, much less magical combat against another cultivator.

He was so nervous that he was shaking. Roaring to build his own courage, he unleashed the power of the third level of Chakra Condensation, holding nothing back from his cultivation base. He poured all of his spiritual energy into his wooden sword, then waved his finger to send it flying toward Sora.

As the wooden sword whistled through the air, the two designs hidden by the garish paint flickered slightly. Suddenly, the sword expanded in size and exploded with an oppressive coldness as it bore down on Sora.

The speed and majesty with which it shot through the air caused Big Fatty Choji, as well as the group from the Supervisors' Department, to gasp and stare in astonishment. As the ferocious aura of the sword filled the area, all hearts were struck with shock, and suddenly, nobody was interested in fighting any more, and instead stared at the sword.

Sora hadn't even gotten close to Naruto yet, and was struck with terror by his energy. From what he could tell, this version of Naruto was completely different than the person he had faced several months before. The way he gritted his teeth and looked like he was going all out caused Sora's heart to fill with shock.

Next, his eyes widened with disbelief as he saw Naruto's wooden sword speeding toward him. It was like a stream of white light, bursting with the type of energy that he had only seen during fights between Outer Sect disciples. He was so flabbergasted that his scalp went numb.

A bang rang out as Naruto's wooden sword slammed into Sora's. Sora's wooden sword trembled, completely incapable of standing up to the force of the blow. Starting from the tip, it shattered into pieces. In the blink of an eye, it was completely destroyed, transformed into countless shimmering fragments.

As for Naruto's wooden sword, it didn't even pause. It continued to shoot through the air toward Sora, who by this point was scared witless. Using all the power he could muster, he dodged out of the way. The wooden sword whistled past him, slicing his shoulder in the process, and then slashing into a nearby tree.

A boom rattled out as the tree was chopped completely in half, and then collapsed onto the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Sora let out a miserable shriek as blood splashed all over his arm. Face pale, he immediately fell back.

Luckily for him, Naruto wasn't very adept at controlling physical objects. Otherwise, that sword would definitely have killed him.

"Third level of Chakra Condensation! Impossible! This is impossible!" Sora looked at Naruto, and he seemed as terrified as if he had just caught sight of a ghost. To be able to unleash such power in a wooden sword clearly required the third level of Chakra Condensation, and he simply could not imagine how Naruto could have made such an astonishing transformation in only a few months. Things were playing out in exactly the opposite as he had imagined they would, which was impossible for him to accept. It was like he was in a living nightmare.

He wasn't the only shocked one. The burly man from the Supervisors' Department and all of his friends all gasped and looked over at Naruto with serious expressions.

"Forming sharpness with spiritual energy and unleashing sword light! That's only possible by cultivating the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art into the Lightness-in-Heaviness Realm! There's no other way to unleash a divine ability like that!" The burly man from the Supervisors' Department gasped, and fear could now be seen in his eyes as he looked at Naruto.

His fellows had the exact same reaction, and there was almost no need to even mention Big Fatty Choji and the others, who were also completely shocked. Although they had sensed that Naruto had reached the third level of Chakra Condensation, the fact that he could cause sword light to emanate out from the wooden sword, and also make it grow larger, showed that he really had reached the Lightness-in-Heaviness Realm, something they had been completely unaware of before.

Even Naruto was a bit shaken by what had just happened with the wooden sword. He stared at the toppled tree, then at the ashen-faced Sora, and suddenly threw his head back and laughed.

"So, Sora, it turns out you are the weak one! Eat my sword!" Delighted that he was clearly stronger than Sora, Naruto immediately began chasing Sora, laughing the entire time.

Naruto's gaze caused Sora to tremble, and the sight of him rushing over, laughing uproariously, was completely terrifying. Sora immediately scrambled to flee.

However, he could only take a few steps before Naruto was upon him. As he closed in, Naruto couldn't help but think of how Sora had chased him relentlessly, forcing him to spend so many bitter days practicing cultivation. That bitterness turned into power, which he now used to kick viciously at Sora.

"Let's see you try to kill me again!" he yelled, punching Sora in the eye. Sora let out a miserable shriek and fell to the ground. He wanted to fight back, but his cultivation base was only at the second level of Chakra Condensation, leaving him powerless to do anything to Naruto.

"You provoked the Young Master, so now he's going to show you that he's not to be trifled with!" Fuming with rage, Naruto continued to kick and punch Sora, who was now wailing in anguish.

Cracking sounds could be heard that caused both the burly man and the others from the Supervisors' Department, as well as Big Fatty Choji and the others, to all stare in shock. They watched Sora being beaten, and Naruto excitedly doing the beating, and their hearts prickled with fear.

Tears streamed down Sora's face, and his heart overflowed with grief. He still couldn't believe that Naruto had experienced such a drastic transformation in just a few short months. Even more unbelievable was that he could use the divine ability of Lightness-in-Heaviness. That was something that was impossible to achieve without years of work and significant skill.

In his mind, Naruto obviously must have someone powerful helping him. Furthermore, he was surely more powerful than he had let on before. However, because of his despicable and shameless personality, he had pretended to be weak. Most outrageous was that Sora had completely fallen for the act.

At that point, Sora was overwhelmed with sorrow, and simply passed out.

Seeing that Sora had fallen unconscious, Naruto patted the dust off of his clothes and then waved his hand, causing his wooden sword to fly over into his sleeve. Then, looking every bit the lonely hero, he did his best to hide the excitement in his eyes.

The burly man from the Supervisors' Department looked deeply at him, his expression conflicted. Finally, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Junior Brother Naruto, you did a good job of concealing your true strength," he said, his face expressionless. "You've earned our admiration." Then, he turned and left with his fellows, picking up the unconscious Sora and taking him along too.

After they left, Big Fatty Choji and the others clustered around Naruto, smiling broadly. After all, the people from the Supervisors' Department were outsiders, and they knew that Naruto had worked hard over the past months. Therefore they were pleased with the overall outcome.

"Nice work, kid. You didn't kill yourself for half a year for nothing!" Big Fatty Choji patted Naruto's shoulder.

"That's right. I worked so hard that I scared even myself!" Naruto lifted his chin as proudly as a cocky rooster, as if daring Big Fatty Choji and the others to ever laugh at him again.


	3. Chapter 3

According to an ancient saying, time flying by is like catching a glimpse of a white colt flashing past a chink in a wall. That is exactly what happened for Naruto. A month later, cold winds blew down the Heavenspan River and through the Spirit Stream Sect. All of a sudden, Naruto realized that he had been in the sect for a year already.

The past year had been chock-full of one event after another. He had left the world of mortals to become a cultivator, elevated his cultivation base to the third level of Chakra Condensation, and had resolved all the conflicts that cropped up due to him joining the Ovens.

Sora never showed up at the Ovens again, and when Naruto left on supply runs and saw him from a distance, he would scurry away, clearly terrified.

Despite all of that, however, after a month went by, Naruto looked as anxious as ever, and was sighing constantly. He didn't talk to Big Fatty Choji and the others about his concerns; he simply wallowed in his helplessness.

"One year of longevity..." he thought, looking at a tree off in the distance, whose leaves had already begun to turn yellow and fall to the ground.

"I'm just like that tree, and those falling leaves are just like my one lost year of longevity..." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto suddenly felt very sentimental.

During the course of the past month, he had come up with countless ideas on how to restore the lost longevity, and yet, that white hair on his head remained as white as ever. He made some roundabout inquiries of Big Fatty Choji, and learned that in the cultivation world, methods did indeed exist which could restore longevity. However, such methods were either well-kept secrets, or as easy to track down as a phoenix feather or a qilin horn.

Soon, he even lost interest in eating and drinking, and his face became wan and pallid. Eventually, he decided that he had no choice but to give up and accept the fact that he had lost the longevity. However, the following day when he went out on an Ovens supply run, he happened to catch sight of an enormous stone stele below the Third Peak, and all of a sudden, he started to pant.

On the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, all of the mountain peaks had stone steles like this one. It was covered with dense script, lines and lines of writing that glittered with bright light. Occasionally, the lines of script would flow like water as old characters were replaced by new ones.

That stone stele was where missions were handed out by the Spirit Stream Sect. Anyone in the sect who wanted to could accomplish the missions to earn the spirit stones necessary for cultivation, as well as merit points.

The merit points could be used to pay admission fees to scripture sermons or the Magical Arts Pavilion. They could also be used to gain access to all sorts of special places in the sect set aside for certain aspects of cultivation. Virtually everything in the sect could be acquired with merit points, and they were actually viewed as more valuable than spirit stones.

At the moment, quite a few Outer Sect disciples were gathered around the third peak's Mission Stele, staring at the missions. When one of them selected a mission to take, they would respectfully notify the middle-aged cultivator sitting cross-legged beneath the stele.

There were even some servants mingling with the Outer Sect disciples. The servants wore their uniforms, and the Outer Sect disciples wore green robes embroidered with cloud and river designs, making it very easy to tell who was who.

There were certain missions that only Inner Sect disciples could accept, but missions like that wouldn't show up on this particular stone stele. The missions here could be accepted by Outer Sect disciples and servants alike.

Many ambitious servants viewed this place as their first step in becoming like that fish which leaped over the dragon gate, achieving a meteoric rise.

Naruto stood there for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, face grim as he stared at one particular line of script in the middle of the stone stele. Eventually, a look of hesitation appeared in his eyes.

"Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill..." he murmured. "I never imagined that this stone stele would offer a medicinal pill like that as a reward. From the name alone, you can tell that the pill probably increases longevity." After a bit of thought, he approached the middle-aged cultivator.

When the Outer Sect disciples sensed Naruto approaching, they completely ignored him. Considering their status, they didn't care at all about servants, who they viewed as beneath them.

Naruto waited until the crowd around the middle-aged cultivator thinned a bit, then, looking as charming and innocent as possible, clasped hands and bowed in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Elder Brother," he said.

The middle-aged cultivator looked Naruto up and down, then nodded slightly.

The problem of his own longevity swirled in Naruto's mind as he asked: "Elder Brother, one of the missions is to go search for some medicinal plants. The reward is an Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill. Might I ask whether or not that pill is useful for extending longevity?"

"Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill... Yeah, it's this mission right here. That pill really can prolong your age and enhance your longevity. In fact, it adds a whole year. However, it has a lot of limitations. It can only be used if you're at the fifth level of Chakra Condensation or lower, and can only be consumed once. If you take the pill more than one time, it simply won't do anything. You could say that it's valuable, but unfortunately, one year of longevity doesn't really count for much." Seeing how charming and innocent Naruto looked, the middle-aged cultivator decided to add a bit more information.

"Generally speaking, this is a pill that disciples will give to their mortal family members who are reaching the ends of their lives. However, it's still very expensive. Do you want to accept the mission?"

Naruto looked back at the stone stele, did some calculations, and then nodded.

The middle-aged cultivator waved his finger at the stone stele, and the mission turned gray. At the same time, he produced a jade slip which he handed over to Naruto.

"Greenspirit leaf, earthdragon fruit, and stonebeetle husk," the man said coolly. "Collect the proper amounts of those three medicinal ingredients, and you can exchange them for an Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill." After that, he paid no further heed to Naruto, and instead turned and began to explain other missions to the nearby Outer Sect disciples.

Naruto left, clutching the jade slip in his hands, the term "Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill" echoing about in his mind. His eyes began to glow with decisiveness.

"I'm definitely going to get that medicinal pill and make up for the one year of longevity I lost."

Bursting with determination, he hurried to the Four Seas Room, where he poured over the information available to servants. He soon found an introduction to greenspirit leaf, a type of medicinal plant that only grew in habitats occupied by hopespirit birds. Hopespirit birds lived in large colonies, and usually grew to the second level of Chakra Condensation, making the greenspirit Leaf difficult to harvest. As a result, it tended to be expensive.

Unfortunately, there was no record in the Four Seas Room of the earthdragon fruit or the stonebeetle husk. Naruto patted his bag, smiled bitterly, and left. After returning to the Ovens, he asked Big Fatty Choji and the others about them. Nobody had ever heard of earthdragon fruit, but Third Fatty Kuro knew about stonebeetle Husk. Apparently, it was nothing more than the molted exoskeleton of a type of spirit bug called a stonebeetle.

Supposedly, those exoskeletons were extremely tough and heavy, but were uncommon on the south shore. However, they were common on the north shore, a result of the fact that most of the techniques they cultivated there were shamanic magics. Unfortunately, despite the fact that both the north and south shores were part of the Spirit Stream Sect, they were separated by the main mountain bridge. Furthermore, only Inner Sect disciples qualified to be able to cross that mountain bridge to get from one shore to the other.

"What are you asking about these medicinal ingredients for?" Big Fatty Choji asked, patting his stomach. "You can't eat them, you know. Besides, if you try to buy them at the south bank market, the prices are ridiculously high."

When Naruto heard the word 'market' mentioned, his eyes suddenly lit up. After offering a quick explanation, he hurried down the mountain. In the year he had been a part of the Ovens, he had only been out of the sect on a few occasions, and yet, was very familiar with the market outside of the sect.

Most of the stalls were run by various cultivator clans related to sect disciples. There were even some establishments that were owned by disciples, and catered specifically to other disciples. Gradually, a set of unspoken rules had come to be established that everyone abided by.

Generally speaking, any supplies that the Ovens needed could be found here.

Naruto strolled around the market for a while and visited several medicinal plant shops. By the time he got back to the Ovens, his brow was furrowed and he was heaving sighs left and right.

"What a rip-off! Especially the earthdragon fruit. All it is is a kind of fruit that grows underground. Why is it so expensive!?" Naruto was dismayed to discover that, given his current situation, he was essentially incapable of getting the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill.

He basically had no concept of money. To him, no amount of wealth could compare to longevity. Unfortunately, he was currently embarrassingly short on funds. Furthermore, he knew that although his Elder Brothers possessed extremely ample bellies, their bags were as empty as his. They definitely weren't any richer than he was.

Although nobody would go to the trouble of calling them to task for eating a bit of the food from the Ovens' supplies, if they tried to sell that food, the Supervisors Department would definitely catch on, and would not be happy.

After thinking about the matter from numerous angles, Naruto couldn't come up with any ideas for how to make some money, other than to sell some spirit enhanced items.

However, that didn't quite seem like the appropriate thing to do. He continued to ponder the matter for a few more days. On one particular morning, he was sitting cross-legged in his hut practicing cultivation when he heard the sound of bells echoing out through the sect.

The sound wasn't very loud, and quickly faded away. Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't surprised by the tolling of the bells. In fact, they rang out every month. He had learned from Big Fatty Choji that the bells indicated that a trial by fire was beginning for servants. Whoever succeeded would be given a spot as an Outer Sect disciple.

For those extremely ambitious servants who wanted to become Outer Sect disciples, the first step to becoming the fish who leaped over the dragon gate was to reach the third level of Chakra Condensation. Then they could select one of the trials by fire. The trials by fire were nothing more than a path of stone steps that led to the top of the mountain peak. However, that path was imbued with magical power, making each step extremely arduous. Anyone who managed to make it to the top would be qualified to become an Outer Sect disciple.

Unfortunately, spots in the Outer Sect were limited, so only the first three competitors to the top, the best of the best, would be able to get in. After all, there were many servants in the Spirit Stream Sect. There were thousands and thousands on the south bank alone. Therefore, there were always fierce struggles to succeed.

Of course, the members of the Ovens would rather die of starvation in the Ovens than try to climb the ladder in the Outer Sect. Therefore, on this particular day every month, they turned their noses up at all the hustle and bustle.

Naruto closed his eyes. However, a moment later, they snapped open, and a strange expression could be seen therein. Then, they began to glitter with excitement as a new idea formed in his head. He shot to his feet and began to pace back and forth inside his hut. After considering this idea for quite some time, a delighted expression appeared on his face.

"This is the ticket!" he exclaimed. Then he pushed his door open and cried out to Big Fatty Choji and the others, who were currently debating about which unlucky servant would be promoted to be an Outer Sect disciple.

"Elder Brothers, I've figured out how to get rich, but I need your help. Then, we can all get rich together!" He licked his lips and looked at Big Fatty Choji and the others, eyes gleaming.

Big Fatty Choji was familiar with this expression; it was the same look Naruto had on his face when he brought up the idea of making the bottoms of the bowls thicker. Considering how much that idea had benefited the Ovens, Big Fatty Choji couldn't wait to hear Naruto's idea.

"Ninth Fatty, what's your plan? To tell you the truth, we're all completely destitute, and it's all the fault of that damned Supervisors Department. If it weren't for them, we could sell some of our stuff and get totally rich!" Big Fatty Choji clapped Naruto on the shoulder, eyes shining with anticipation.

Naruto looked around at his Elder Brothers, who were staring at him with eyes that glittered like spirit stones. Big Fatty Choji's eyes looked like they were about to erupt with flames. Naruto cleared his throat, feeling more than a little bit proud of himself.

"Elder Brother, check this out. The three mountain peaks of the Spirit Stream Sect all have a trial by fire every month, giving us servants a chance to become like the fish that leaped over the dragon gate, right?" Naruto glanced around at everyone, looking like the picture of charm and innocence.

Big Fatty Choji nodded in response.

"However, the sect only wants the best of the best. Therefore, no matter how many people participate in the trial by fire, only the top three disciples per mountain peak get picked. Am I right?" He licked his lips, and his eyes were beginning to shine. Big Fatty Choji listened thoughtfully.

A ruminative expression could also be seen on Third Fatty Kuro's face, although everyone else seemed confused.

Big Fatty Choji looked at Naruto, and his eyes also began to shine. "Do you mean..."

"Considering the levels of your cultivation bases, Elder Brothers, and mine, it would be easy to sweep the trials by fire of all three mountains..." Naruto looked around at his Elder Brothers. All of them had cultivation bases at the third level of Chakra Condensation; Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro were actually at the peak of the third level. Were it not for the fact that they didn't want to leave the Ovens, and thus kept their cultivation bases suppressed, they could have broken through to the next level long ago.

"Therefore," Naruto continued, speaking very quickly, "all we have to do is get to the peak of the mountains as quickly as possible, and hold the top three spots. Then, we can... sell them to whoever comes along after us!" He stopped and looked at Big Fatty Choji and the others.

Big Fatty Choji was trembling.

"So low down..." he said. Then he took a deep breath and slapped his thigh. An unprecedentedly bright glow appeared in his eyes. The method described by Naruto wasn't very complicated at all, and was in fact quite simple. It was merely a different way of thinking that, after being spoken out loud, was easy to understand. However, before being explained, it was actually the opposite of what everyone would have thought the idea to be.

Big Fatty Choji seemed to be in the midst of spiritual enlightenment. It was as if a door had been opened, leading to a brand new type of life. He couldn't hold back from laughing heartily.

Third Fatty Kuro stamped an excited foot, face flushed from either embarrassment or excitement. "This couldn't be any more low down! Hahaha!"

As the other fatties understood, they started getting excited. Panting, they couldn't help but stare at Naruto with more admiration than ever.

"Great idea! Let's do it!"

"Fudge! That bunch of bastards from the Supervisors Department have persecuted us into poverty for years now. Thankfully, Ninth Junior Brother is here now. Let's do it!" Then, they began to excitedly discuss the details of how to carry out such a plan.

After they were sure that there was nothing they had overlooked, they decided to try out their scheme in the following month's trials by fire. Big Fatty Choji slapped his thigh in delight.

"Tonight is snack night!"

Excited conversations filled the Ovens. The following month was one of extreme enthusiasm. In fact, just to play it safe, everyone took time to practice cultivation, which was a rare occurrence. In the end, everyone was waiting impatiently for the day of the trial by fire to arrive.

Finally, it did.

The sun shone brightly in the morning sky. Beneath the three mountain peaks on the south shore of the Spirit Stream Sect, an unprecedented scene was playing out. There at the entrance to each of the trails leading up the mountains, shockingly, three black woks appeared.

A closer look revealed that underneath those black woks were extraordinarily formidable fatties. The sight was truly impressive.

These were the nine members of the Ovens, and this was, in fact, their first time attending the trials by fire held for servants at the three mountain peaks. Just as they had planned, three of their number went to each of the three mountain peaks.

Large groups of servants were hurrying toward the mountain peaks from all directions, cracking their knuckles and looking very excited. Many of these servants had attempted the trials by fire on numerous occasions, only to fail in the end. For others, it was their first time attending. Everyone was both excited and nervous, and hoped that they could be like a galloping divine steed and make a meteoric rise to become an Outer Sect disciple.

As they neared the various mountain peaks, they caught sight of the fatties from the Ovens.

"The Ovens? What are they doing here?"

"I've been a servant for nine years already, and I've participated in the trials by fire thirty times. This is the first time I've ever seen anyone from the Ovens here..." The other servants were shocked, and began to spread word. Soon, everyone was talking about the fact that all three of the mountains had people from the Ovens waiting there for the trials by fire.

"This is big! I can't believe the Ovens people all are going to vie for a spot in the Outer Sect. What's going on...?"

Naruto, Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro were all waiting at the bottom of the third peak. When they heard the shocked exclamations of the other servants, they didn't react at all. In fact, their faces were so calm that it almost seemed they were away on astral journeys and were completely oblivious to all of the conversations around them.

They were completely and utterly focused on the trial by fire starting line. To them, this was not the path of a trial by fire; instead, it was a glittering, glowing road to spirit stones.

Naruto looked especially solemn, with his eyes turned up in thought.

Soon, a figure could be seen floating down from the three mountains. The person to land by Naruto and the others was a middle-aged man who had the demeanor of a transcendent being. The first thing he noticed as he alighted next to the starting line was the mountain of flesh that was Big Fatty Choji.

Then he looked over at Naruto and Third Fatty Kuro. This man was the honor guard in charge of the trial by fire, and currently, his heart was filled with astonishment.

"Did the sun rise from the west today?" he thought. "Usually the people from the Ovens would rather die than become Outer Sect disciples. What's going on?"

After blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, an expression of encouragement appeared on the man's face. He flicked his sleeve and began to speak, his voice echoing out in all directions.

"Let the trial by fire for promotion to the Outer Sect... begin!" As soon as the words left his mouth, bells began to toll throughout the sect. At the same time, the starting lines to the trials by fire lit up, indicating that the event had begun.

Instantly, Big Fatty Choji shot forward, an expression of extreme focus on his face. He kicked up a huge wind as he ran toward the stone steps leading up the mountain, moving so fast you might think he was being chased by a ravenous beast.

Third Fatty Kuro also leapt into motion behind Big Fatty Choji, a brutal gleam in his eyes that seemed to indicate that anyone who tried to overtake him on the path was threatening his life.

In third place was Naruto, who leapt onto the path as quickly as a rabbit, thinking about nothing else but the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill. In the blink of an eye, the three of them were dashing madly up the path.

All of that happened so quickly that the other servants barely had time to react. Their faces immediately fell and, gritting their teeth, they scrambled onto the path and began to climb toward the peak.

Similar scenes played out on the other two mountains, with the fatties from the Ovens instantly taking the lead.

The third mountain peak was known as Fragrant Cloud Peak, and currently Naruto and his companions were flying along the trial by fire path, far ahead of everyone else. However, it didn't take long before they felt increasing pressure weighing down on them, forcing them to slow their pace.

Naruto looked around and realized that seven or eight people were closing in behind him. Suddenly, he was filled with a feeling of anxiety; it was as if these people were on the verge of stealing his Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill.

"Taking away my Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill is the same as taking away my life!" He suddenly held his breath, causing his face to turn scarlet. Then he sent spiritual energy streaming out into his body, which formed into a powerful, surging force. All of a sudden, he charged forward like wild boar whose tail had just been stepped on. In the blink of an eye, his speed more than doubled, and he had passed Third Fatty Kuro and even Big Fatty Choji.

Third Fatty Kuro let out a roar, and then used some unknown technique to similarly increase his speed and suddenly pass up Big Fatty Choji and race closer to Naruto. Seeing that he had just been passed by his two companions, Big Fatty Choji started getting anxious.

He took a deep breath and then, all of a sudden, his rolls of fat seemed to shrink. It was almost as if he was burning his fat in exchange for a burst of speed. Rumbling sounds could be heard as he closed the distance between himself and Third Fatty Kuro. Soon, all three of them were speeding along rapidly.

When the servants behind them saw what was happening, their jaws dropped in shock. Looks of despair appeared on their faces, and yet, they weren't willing to give up so easily, and pushed onward with all the strength they could muster. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to catch up with Naruto and the others. Their tempers having reached the limit, they began to cry out curses.

"Dammit! Are they high on aphrodisiacs or something? How could they be so fast!"

Soon, enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and Naruto had already reached the top of the mountain. In fact, he could even see two Outer Sect disciples standing just beyond the finish line, waiting there to receive the servants.

As soon as the two Outer Sect disciples caught sight of Naruto, they smiled slightly, and one of them said, "Congratulations, Junior Br-"

However, before he could even finish speaking, his eyes went wide with shock.

Naruto barreled along a few more paces, but then screeched to a halt a mere step in front of the finish line.

He stood there looking at the Outer Sect disciples, and they looked back at him. Then, he gave them a charming smile, and spun to face the other direction.

"Stop!" he roared, throwing his hands up into the air. Instantly, Third Fatty Kuro and Big Fatty Choji wheezed to a stop next to him. The three of them stood there looking at each other, breathing heavily. Then, they broke out into laughter.

The two Outer Sect disciples exchanged dismayed glances, unsure of what exactly was happening. The fact that these three suddenly stopped running at this point seemed to indicate that they were crazy.

"Junior Brothers," one of the Outer Sect disciples said cautiously, "the three of you are the first to arrive at the finish line. Just step on over, and you will be promoted into the Outer Sect."

"Outer Sect disciples?" Big Fatty Choji said, waving his hand dismissively. "Who wants to become Outer Sect disciples?" He continued to stand there along with Third Fatty Kuro, two mountains of flesh who completely blocked the exit gate.

Naruto sat down in front of them, jaw tilted up as he waited, lofty and proud.

The two Outer Sect disciples didn't seem pleased. "Huh? If you don't want to be Outer Sect disciples, then what are you doing here? Are you people crazy or something?!"

Big Fatty Choji, Third Fatty Kuro and Naruto pretended not to have heard, and kept their eyes focused further on down the mountain.

Soon, enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn. Finally, a long-faced servant struggled up the path, gasping and wheezing. When he saw Naruto and the others, he immediately sighed. However, his eyes burned with an unyielding light. This was his ninth time participating in the trial by fire, and this was the first time he'd even come close to winning. But then, along came the people from the Ovens.

Looking furious, he was just about to turn to leave when Naruto shot to his feet and yelled, "Elder Brother, don't go! Come, come. You know what? I just can't bear to leave the Ovens. All of a sudden, I don't want to be an Outer Sect disciple after all. Maybe I should give my spot up..."

The long-faced servant stared in shock for a moment, and then his eyes began to shine.

Hope! That was the word that flashed into the mind of the long-faced young man as soon as he heard Naruto's words. But then he glanced at the mountains of meat sitting there behind him, grinning maliciously, and he hesitated.

"You..."

Naruto stepped forward with an utterly charming smile, looking like the type of person who wouldn't harm a fly. He clasped the long-faced servant on the shoulder and said, "Congratulations on becoming an Outer Sect disciple, Elder Brother. You are the fish that leaped over the dragon gate. You will soar like a shooting star, your future limitless. However, your Junior Brother here worked really hard to run all the way to the finish line. Don't you think it would be appropriate to give a little compensation?"

The servant's face darkened. If he didn't understand by now what was going on, then he didn't deserve to have lived for so many years. He looked at Naruto, and then at Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro. Then his expression flickered as he rapidly considered the matter, trying to decide if it was worth it.

It didn't take very long before the long-faced young man gritted his teeth and made his decision. If he lost this chance, it might seem like all he was losing was a month of time. However, who knew what other sort of powerful expert would appear during that month. Besides, who was to say whether or not the three people from the Ovens... might not show up again in the next trial by fire.

Most important of all was that this young man was dead set on becoming an Outer Sect disciple, and now, hope had been set down right in front of him. Finally, he stamped his foot.

"How much compensation do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Beaming, Naruto quickly replied, "Not much, not much. Look, I prepared for several months to participate in this trial by fire. How about we agree to twenty spirit stones? That should be enough."

When he heard the number mentioned, the long-faced young man's heart trembled. He flicked his sleeve, and was just about to refuse, when Naruto once again spoke up.

"Look, it's not that I'm being greedy. All three of us are together, you see, so you can't just think about me. My Eldest Brother and Third Elder Brother both starved themselves and lost a lot of weight for the sake of this trial by fire."

In that respect, Naruto wasn't lying at all. Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro had both lost quite a bit of fat on their way up the mountain.

The long-faced servant eyed Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro, and inwardly began to let loose a torrent of curse words. Then, he started to bargain, and ended up agreeing on sixteen spirit stones. Heart twinging in pain, he finally tossed a bag over to Naruto.

"Alright?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Wonderful," replied Naruto cheerily. "Okay, Elder Brother, please wait off to the side for a moment. Once we have two more takers, we'll open the way to the exit gate." Naruto tossed the spirit stones to Big Fatty Choji.

When the long-faced servant realized that they were going to wait for two more people to come, anticipation suddenly welled up in his heart. It was a situation of "if I get screwed, you better not have a smile on your face."

By this point, the two Outer Sect disciples on the other side of the exit gate realized what was going on, and their eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Wh-what are you people doing?" one of them shouted. "You're actually selling spots in the Outer Sect? What gall!"

Big Fatty Choji was elatedly counting the spirit stones when he heard the Outer Sect disciples. Looking irritated, he turned to glare at them. "What are you hollering for? It was tiring reaching this point, and now I don't feel like going any further. Don't tell me we're not allowed to let other fellow disciples continue on past us? If they want to give us some compensation for our efforts, what's so wrong with that, huh?"

The two Outer Sect disciples weren't really sure how to respond to such a statement.

It was at this point that seven or eight flushed faces could be seen hurrying up the path. The sound of their gasping pants rang out almost like thunder. In the lead position was a burly man of about thirty years of age. He was bare-chested, and looked very impressive as he strode up to the top of the mountain. Naruto immediately stepped forward, eyes gleaming.

"You're a bit late, Elder Brother. However, I suddenly don't want to become an Outer Sect disciple. Would you like my spot?"

The burly man stared in shock, then turned back to look at all the other servants coming up the mountain behind him. Then he snorted coldly and said, "You think you can extort money from me, you little brat? Beat it!"

Roaring, the man waved his arm, causing the spirit pressure of the third level of Chakra Condensation to surge out.

Naruto backed up a pace and shouted, "Eldest Brother!"

Almost immediately, a mountain of flesh descended from above.

The burly man's face fell as he looked up. Then, a huge boom rang out as the mountain of flesh smashed into him.

The burly man let out a miserable shriek as Big Fatty Choji proceeded to sit down on top of him. Although he struggled, it was impossible for him to free himself. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he was so big and strong to begin with, the air would have been squeezed out of his lungs, and he would have fainted.

When the seven or so servants coming up the mountain behind the burly man saw what was happening, their eyes went wide with shock.

The two Outer Sect disciples also gasped. The burly man stuck under Big Fatty Choji almost seemed to be deflating, and they couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

Eyes darting about, Naruto leaned over and whispered, "Eldest Brother, we have an audience."

Having known Naruto for over a year now, Big Fatty Choji understood exactly what he meant. Glaring down at the burly man, he clenched his massive hands into hammer-like fists and then began to beat him soundly.

"How dare you try to freeload off of Lord Fatty! What brazen gall!

"It was really hard to climb all the way up here. We wanted to become Outer Sect disciples, but just happened to give up at the last minute. Of course we want some compensation!

"Fudge, I can't believe you refused us!" After beating him for a bit, Big Fatty Choji then jumped back up into the air and then slammed down onto the man. The burly man was shrieking miserably, and could barely breathe. Then Big Fatty Choji prepared to jump up again, and the man suddenly held a bag out in a shaking hand. Face filled with terror, he blurted, "Here, take some compensation!"

Big Fatty Choji immediately helped the burly man to his feet. Face beaming, he took the bag, glanced inside, then helped the man dust off his clothes.

"Hahaha. Why didn't you say so earlier, bro? Look, people are already lining up ahead of you. All we need is one more and we'll open the path."

The burly man looked both humiliated and enraged, but didn't dare to say anything. He stalked over to stand next to the long-faced servant, feeling incredibly depressed. As for the long-faced servant, he already felt a little better, and couldn't help but feel that he was smarter than this burly fellow.

"That was incredible, Eldest Brother!" Naruto said, grinning from ear to ear. Then he looked over excitedly at the other servants who had been following the burly man, but were now standing there looking terrified.

Big Fatty Choji smiled proudly, then walked back to his place by the entrance, where he sat down again to block the way.

The two Outer Sect disciples exchanged dismayed glances. Compared to what had just happened now, the way Naruto and the others had extorted the long-faced servant almost seemed mild and gentle.

"They're... they're actually robbing people!"

"This is robbery!" They were infuriated, but also a little bit jealous, and couldn't help but wish they had come up with a similar idea back when they had been participating in the trial by fire.

Most conflicted of all were the seven servants who had been following close behind the burly man. As they watched Big Fatty Choji crushing and beating the burly man, their eyes began to shine with a bright light.

Previously, becoming an Outer Sect disciple had almost seemed like an impossibility. But now... they all of a sudden had hope.

Looking around excitedly at all the people, Naruto suddenly cried out in a high-pitched voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, there's one spot left. How about this, we'll give it to the highest bidder!"

Immediately, the crowd of people realized what was happening, and the sound of their panting grew even louder.

The looks in their eyes became even stranger, and their hearts filled with all sorts of wild possibilities. Almost immediately, people began crying out bids, making it seem almost like an auction.

"I'll bid ten spirit stones!"

"Eleven!"

"That spot belongs to me. I'll bid fifteen spirit stones!"

Naruto, Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro were instantly elated.

When the two Outer Sect disciples heard what was going on, it was like pouring oil onto a fire. From their perspective, extortion was one thing, and robbery could potentially be overlooked. But to see the situation turning into an auction left their minds spinning. It was so outrageous that waves of shock seemed to batter their hearts. To them, the most villainous among the three wasn't Big Fatty Choji, but rather, the seemingly charming and innocent Naruto!

"Outrageous! Shameless!" One of them finally gritted his teeth and spun around, eyes bloodshot with either jealousy or fury, he wasn't sure which, as he went to report the matter to the Honor Guard.

Naruto wasn't actually very pleased with the level of bids being called out. His eyes turned up in thought for a moment, and then he cried out, "Ladies and gentlemen, we need to hurry things up. Otherwise, other servants are going to show up, and then who knows what lengths they'll go to in order to win!"

In response to his words, the voice of a young woman suddenly called out from further back down the mountain.

"I, Amaru, bid thirty spirit stones! I come from one of the cultivator clans and have tons of money. Let's see who dares to try to steal my spot!" A pretty young girl huffed and puffed her way up the mountain. She had white skin and a slim frame, and looked quite young.

When Big Fatty Choji saw the pretty young girl, his eyes went wide. He was just about to say something, but stopped himself and looked over at Naruto.

Almost as soon as Amaru's words left her mouth, the rest of the servants were thrown into a huge commotion, calling out increasingly high bids. In the end, she named a price that left the horse-faced youth and the burly man trembling in fear. In fact, they even felt like they had just gotten a huge deal.

Amaru strode out from the crowd, her ample chest leading the way. She looked back scornfully at everyone else, then joined the long-faced young man and the burly fellow, who called himself Lord Wolf. Together, they walked up to the final step and then exited the trial by fire.

Behind them, Naruto, Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoists. You are the fish who leaped over the dragon gate, you are galloping divine steeds!"

The long-faced servant and the others stood there at the top of the mountain, somewhat in a daze. Although they were now Outer Sect disciples, for some reason, it wasn't as joyous of an occasion as they had imagined. Then they heard the words uttered by Naruto and the others, and the long-faced young man and the burly servant exchanged rueful, bitter glances.

Amaru, on the other hand, seemed extremely excited. Her charming face was even a bit flushed.

"I never thought that I, Amaru, would ever encounter such luck," she thought proudly.

And thus, the trial by fire concluded. As Amaru walked further up the mountain, Big Fatty Choji looked at her and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Ah, so fair, so young, so pure..." he said. Then he looked over at Naruto, as if he were comparing the two of them.

Naruto was also staring at Amaru as she walked off into the distance, his heart filled with conflicting emotions. Then he heard Big Fatty Choji, and turned to find him looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, what are you looking at!?" he yelled.

Big Fatty Choji laughed loudly at Naruto's anger, then pulled out the bag of spirit stones and quickly changed the topic.

"Come, come, why don't we count our spirit stones? We're rich now! Hahaha! This really was a great idea."

"What's the point in counting them?" replied Naruto with a cold harrumph. "No matter how many times you do it, it won't change how many there are."

"Ninth Junior Brother, you don't understand. What you're looking at is just spirit stones, but what you're counting is... life." Big Fatty Choji rarely spoke of the profundities of life. To hear him speak in such a way left Naruto shocked. He took the bag and tried to count the spirit stones the way Big Fatty Choji would, but quickly got bored and handed the bag back.

It was at about this time that glittering light rose up along the trial by fire path. Everyone's vision swam, and when it became clear again, they were back at the bottom of the mountain.

When the middle-aged honor guard who was in charge of the trial by fire saw Naruto and the others, a strange expression appeared on his face. After a moment, he shook his head and ignored them. As far as he was concerned, the sect would have to figure out what to do with the Ovens.

Naruto and the others were nervous, but seeing that there were no immediate repercussions, they exchanged glances, cleared their throats, and quickly headed back to the Ovens.

Big Fatty Choji kept counting the spirit stones over and over again, all the way until they were back at the Ovens. The other fatties soon returned, also elated. Everyone exchanged glances, and then looked extremely proud of themselves.

After the loot had been split up, Naruto went back to his hut. He had come to this place seeking to live forever. Were it not for the fact that he needed the medicinal plants to exchange for an Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill, he would never have even thought for a moment about spirit stones.

That night, nobody in the Ovens could sleep. Big Fatty Choji and the others were simply too excited from getting rich all of a sudden. In the past, their coin purses had been depressingly empty, but now, the future seemed bright and glorious. That having been said, they were still worried about the possible repercussions of what they had done, making it difficult for them to fall asleep.

As for Naruto, he couldn't stop thinking about the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill, and was equally unable to fall asleep.

The next day, the news about the Ovens blocking the path during the trial by fire spread like wildfire through the entire servants district on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. Soon, everybody had heard.

"Did you hear what the Ovens crew did?!"

"Are they crazy? I can't believe they did that! Heavens! They sold spots into the Outer Sect! Outrageous! How come I never thought to do that?!"

"I've heard that the people from the Ovens have important backgrounds and are really well connected in the sect. Otherwise, how could they dare to do something so infuriating!?" All departments and individuals in the servants district were talking about the Ovens.

In the following days, the crew tried to keep a low profile, and even avoided going out alone. One evening several days later, Naruto was ladling soup out into one thick-bottomed bowl after another. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the path outside.

"Everyone from the Ovens get out here immediately! The Supervisors Department has received orders to investigate your role in what happened during the trials by fire!" Even as the voice called out, the main gate of the Ovens was kicked in loudly.

The sound of the door being kicked open echoed out as several servants burst in, all of them wearing the robes of the Supervisors Department. Leading them all was none other than the burly man who had come last time with Sora.

Big Fatty Choji and Naruto exchanged a glance, then walked out nonchalantly to face the combative group from the Supervisors Department.

"I thought I heard the crows squawking this morning," Big Fatty Choji said. "I should have known that you would be showing up today, Ebisu."

Ebisu laughed coldly as he looked first at Big Fatty Choji and then at Naruto. Their completely calm demeanor caused him to frown.

On the way, he had been extremely excited, having believed himself to have finally gained the advantage he needed to be able to take down the Ovens, to put an end to the animosity that had existed for years between their two departments.

"Quit pretending to be so calm!" Ebisu said with a cold, eerie laugh. His eyes flickered with a fierce light. "People of the Ovens, allow me to ask, did the nine of you attend the most recent trial by fire for servant promotion to the Outer Sect?"

"Sure did," Big Fatty Choji replied, chuckling.

"That's all I need to know. Take them away!" Ebisu didn't mince his words. He waved his right index finger, and immediately, a dozen or so servants from the Supervisors Department quickly hurried forward with iron manacles to arrest the Ovens staff.

Seeing this, Naruto couldn't help but laugh and say, "Is your Supervisors Department in charge of everything? You can even disqualify us from being able to become Outer Sect disciples? You guys are pretty powerful."

Ebisu couldn't help but think of the recent incident with the flying sword. He held his hand out to stop the other servants, then looked at Naruto with narrowed eyes.

"Junior Brother Naruto, if you're still not convinced of my authority, then answer me another question. Did you Ovens people block the exit of the trial by fire and then sell spots in the Outer Sect? Do you dare to admit that you did such a thing?!"

"Of course I admit it!" Naruto replied with a calm nod, looking quite charming. He even pointed at Big Fatty Choji and the others and said, "So do they."

"That's right, we all do. So what?!" Big Fatty Choji said with a hearty laugh.

Ebisu's face flickered. He had never imagined that the Ovens staff would actually admit to the allegations. He had expected them to give in only after a bitter and protracted battle of wits.

The way things were playing out seemed strange, and an odd feeling was growing inside of him. Therefore, it was without another word that he growled, "Excellent. Since you admit it, then it saves me having to ask more questions. You're going to come with me to the Hall of Justice. If any of you dare to resist us, then in accord with the sect rules, you'll be immediately expelled!"

With that, he flew forward toward Naruto, followed by the rest of his group.

However, it was at this point that Naruto suddenly extended his right hand and performed an incantation gesture. Immediately, a beam of sword light shot out from his sleeve, transforming into a colorful wooden sword. The instant the sword appeared between the two groups, it let off an oppressively cold glow. Ebisu stopped in his tracks, his face falling.

"Naruto, how dare you resist arrest!"

"Elder Brother Chen, the Supervisors Department might have the right to question us, but where did you get the right to arrest us?"

"Hmph! What you admitted to violates sect rules, of course I have the right to arrest you!"

"Wait, what sect rule did we violate?" Naruto asked with narrowed eyes. Big Fatty Choji and the others also looked at Ebisu with narrowed eyes and cold smiles.

"You sold a spot into the Outer Sect, which violates sect rule number... wait, huh?" Suddenly, Ebisu stopped speaking, and his face fell. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead.

It was only at this point that he suddenly realized that there was actually no sect rule specifically forbidding people from selling spots into the Outer Sect while on the path of the trial by fire... After all, not many people would think to do such a thing, and even if they did, they would likely not have the gumption to go through with the plan...

"Elder Brother Chen, why are you sweating?" Naruto asked, sounding flabbergasted. However, as he spoke, his words grew louder and louder. "Come on, what rule was it that we violated? Just say it. Wait, could it be that we didn't violate any sect rules? Elder Brother Chen, did you trick the Hall of Justice into carrying out your own personal vendetta? Is that why you came here to punish us? Elder Brother Chen, what you are doing is a violation of volume nine statute number eleven of the sect rules! That comes with a heavy punishment!" By the end of his speech, he felt great.

"Liar! I..." It wasn't just Ebisu's face who fell. All of the other servants from the Supervisors Department all realized that a huge mistake had been made.

It was at this point that Big Fatty Choji smiled viciously, lifted up both hands, and cracked his knuckles. Fierce gleams appeared in the eyes of the other fatties as they began to walk toward the group from the Supervisor's Department.

"Ebisu, the Hall of Justice will deal with your violation of sect rules," said Big Fatty Choji with a vicious grin, his energy surging. "But right now, you had better explain how you're going to compensate for the Ovens' cherished main gate, which was painstakingly forged by the hands of numerous past ancestors who died in the process!"

Since they had dared to block the finish line of the trial by fire, they had naturally done so after being fully prepared. Naruto had suggested early on that they research the sect rules before enacting their huge plan.

"Charge!" cried Big Fatty Choji. His mountain-like figure immediately caused Ebisu and the others to begin to tremble.

Instantly, the clashing and clanging sounds of battle rang out in the courtyard. As for Naruto, his body flashed through the air as he alighted on his usual spot atop the bamboo fence which surrounded the courtyard. He flicked his sleeve and clasped his hands behind his back. Looking off into the distance, he looked every bit the lonely hero who didn't deign to participate in the fighting.

"With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto, reduced the Supervisors Department to ash..."

The Supervisor's Department and the Ovens had been at odds for years. There was a lot of friction between the two, but usually things were kept under control. The worst that ever happened were minor injuries.

The battle over the trial by fire went on for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Big Fatty Choji and the others beat Ebisu and the Supervisors Department squad until they were black and blue. Only when they forked over enough spirit stones to pay for the main gate were they allowed to leave, cursing the entire time.

Before departing, Ebisu looked over at Naruto standing there on the bamboo fence, and the hatred in his heart grew deeper. As far as he was concerned, ever since Naruto showed up, the Ovens had only become more and more repulsive.

The fight had attracted quite a bit of attention in the servants district. Many of the servants, upon realizing that the Supervisors Department could do nothing to the Ovens, were angrier than ever. However, other servants were like Amaru, and felt that what the Ovens had done meant that they would now have a good opportunity in the trials by fire.

In fact, when the trials by fire started the following month, the Ovens crew proudly made their way to the starting line.

The surrounding servants looked at them furiously.

Big Fatty Choji cleared his throat, looked around at the other servants, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you get to the top more quickly than us, then you won't have to buy a spot. We're doing this for the good of the sect! A good struggle will bring out the best of the best!"

He had been instructed by Naruto to word things in such a way, and the result was that the surrounding servants clenched their jaws in anger.

When the bells began to toll, and the trial by fire began, the Ovens crew, as well as all the other servants, began to race up the mountain as if their lives depended on it.

Soon, the fatties and Naruto were so far ahead they couldn't even be seen. The other servants smiled bitterly, but continued on with the race.

Apparently, they had taken Big Fatty Choji's words to heart….

Yet again, the Ovens crew succeeded in spectacular fashion, which caused a huge commotion in the servants district. After all, they had profound cultivation bases, and their physical frames were enormous. No one dared to say anything.

The Ovens was now more in the spotlight than they had ever been. Although they were well known in the servants district, their current fame surpassed anything from past years.

Another two months passed, and whenever there were trials by fire, the Ovens crew quickly hurried over. As far as they were concerned, that time of the month was their spirit stone payday.

Naruto was also excited by the buildup of spirit stones. He would soon have enough to buy all of the medicinal plants he needed. Eventually, yet another round of trials by fire began.

It was currently dawn. Big Fatty Choji, Third Fatty Kuro, and all the other fatties woke up early. Naruto joined them, and the nine of them sped along, then split into three groups, with the group led by Big Fatty Choji heading toward Fragrant Cloud Peak.

However, a group from the Supervisors Department intercepted them en route. No explanations were given, and fighting broke out immediately. The Supervisors Department held the advantage in terms of numbers, leading to a chaotic battle. Soon, the toll of bells could be heard, causing Big Fatty Choji to grow so anxious that his eyes were shot with blood.

As soon as the sound of the bells could be heard, the group from the Supervisors Department scattered. Big Fatty Choji, Naruto and Third Fatty Kuro were incensed, but had no time to give chase. They immediately sped toward the trial by fire on Fragrant Cloud Peak. When they arrived at the entrance of the path, nobody was there, so they instantly began to race up the mountain.

"Those Supervisors Department bastards!" cursed Big Fatty Choji. "Just wait until we're done here, I'll call all the Junior Brothers together and we'll go beat the crap out of 'em!" He was pushing so hard that the fat in his body was burning away, making him visibly thinner. However, the result was explosive speed.

Naruto was also furious. He only needed a few more spirit stones to reach his goal. Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward with all the speed he could muster. Keeping pace with Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro, he shot up the path, passing one servant after another.

As soon as they reached the top of the mountain, their faces darkened. Standing there at the peak, blocking the entrance, were three people.

Standing up front was Ebisu, flanked by two burly men who appeared to be at the third level of Chakra Condensation. As soon as they saw Naruto and the others, they started laughing uproariously.

"Big Fatty Choji and Naruto are here! Well, don't worry, we still have spots left. You want one?"

Big Fatty Choji gritted his teeth. Eyes bloodshot, he yelled, "Despicable! Shameless! You flunkies!"

"Hey, since this isn't breaking sect rules, then if you people from the Ovens can come here, then so can the Supervisors Department!"

"Hahaha! This business belongs to the Supervisors Department now!"

When Naruto and the others heard the mocking laughter of Ebisu and his friends, their rage burned. Now it was obvious why the others from the Supervisors Department had ambushed them on the way here. It was all a big plot!

Big Fatty Choji let out a bellow of rage and was just about to attack Ebisu. As far as he was concerned, a fight at this point was unavoidable. Furthermore, he had no way of knowing how often the same thing would happen again in the future. It was essentially the same as stealing spirit stones from him, which caused his fury to bubble and boil.

Third Fatty Kuro was equally enraged. However, in the same moment that the two of them were about to attack, Naruto looked up in thought and then suddenly whispered, "Eldest Brother, run as fast as you can and then push them over the finish line. We might not get any spirit stones this time, but at least the Supervisors Department won't be able to steal our business in the future!"

Big Fatty Choji's eyes immediately went wild with joy. More than ever, he realized how much of a villain Naruto was. Laughing heartily, he suddenly shot forward. Third Fatty Kuro followed Big Fatty Choji, chuckling, eyes shining.

The path wasn't very wide, and when Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro charged forward together, they were almost like a huge wall.

A wind kicked up as they sped directly toward Ebisu and the others.

Naruto followed behind Big Fatty Choji, letting out a wild whoop.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ebisu and his friends attacked. However, it did no good. Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro were charging forward like startled wild boars.

Their dual attack was shocking enough to make ghosts and gods weep. They charged madly forward, slamming into Ebisu and his friends, forcing them back. Ebisu and his friends were completely shocked, and when they realized what the Ovens crew was doing, their scalps felt like they were about to explode.

In any other situation, Ebisu and his friends would dodge to the side or counterattack. But here, fleeing backward would do no good, and would in fact hasten their defeat.

As they were pushed back, their faces filled with fury.

Obviously, they had no desire to become Outer Sect disciples. After being promoted, they would no longer be in the Supervisors Department, and would become ordinary disciples again, losing access to their ill-gotten gains.

"Elder Brother Choji, stop it!" blurted Ebisu, sweat pouring down his forehead. "There's something I want to say-" However, before he could finish, he was interrupted by Naruto.

"Eldest Brother, keep going! Push them over the finish line!"

In response, Big Fatty Choji let out a roar and pushed forward even harder. Third Fatty Kuro joined him, and rumbling sounds echoed out as they shoved Ebisu and two other burly fellows down the narrow path. The first to cross the finish line was one of the burly men, who then stood there at the top of the mountain, wanting to cry, but unable to.

The other burly fellow let out a miserable scream. Staggering backward, he began to beat his chest in regret.

Last to cross over was Ebisu. No matter how he struggled, the path was too narrow, and a boom could be heard as he was forced off the path. He glared back at Big Fatty Choji and the others, eyes bloodshot and filled with murder.

"Naruto!" The person they hated the most wasn't Big Fatty Choji, but rather Naruto, who had come up with the despicable plan to begin with.

The two Outer Sect disciples at the top of the mountain had been watching as the whole scene played out. They cleared their throats, and then backed up a bit, having nothing to say.

Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro now stood at the finish line, sticking their chests out in pride and laughing heartily.

"See you later, Ebisu!" said Big Fatty Choji, slapping his stomach and causing the fat to jiggle. "Hahaha! Although, not in the servants district! Hahaha! I'll miss you! Congratulations on becoming an Outer Sect disciple!"

Ebisu and his friends very nearly coughed up blood, and in their hearts, they wanted nothing more than to commit murder.

Naruto lifted his chin up, looking very pleased. "There's no need to thank us, Elder Brothers. Congratulations on becoming the fish which leaped over the dragon gate. As Outer Sect disciples, your meteoric success will be like the galloping divine steed. We Junior Brothers offer sincere congratulations!"

However, even as his words rang out, a cold harrumph rang out from the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak.

"There's no need for congratulations, you're coming too."

Almost as soon as the words entered Naruto's ears, he began to tremble. His eyes filled with fear as a powerful force surged down from further up the mountain, enveloped him, and then began to pull up the mountain.

Naruto let out a miserable shriek, and quickly latched his arms around a tree that bordered the trial by fire.

"Elder Brothers, save me!" he screamed.

This development occurred too quickly. Before Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro could even react, a cracking sound could be heard as the tree Naruto was holding on to split in half. He flew backward like a kite with its string cut, spinning upward toward the top of the mountain. At the same time, a middle-aged man appeared up above, wearing a long blue cloak, looking very threatening despite not looking angry. It was none other than…

Taruho.


	4. Chapter 4

Ebisu and his friends were always happy to gloat in the misfortune of others. As they watched what was happening to Naruto, they couldn't help but feel as if the grand laws of heaven were truly being enforced implacably. As for the two Outer Sect disciples in charge of the trial by fire, they looked on with hatred, a sensation that no other servant had ever caused them to feel.

"I don't wanna go..." Naruto plopped onto the ground and immediately began to wail, his voice filled with such a feeling of being abused that any listener would surely weep.

Simultaneously, back down on the path, Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro saw Taruho and began to quiver. They quickly bowed their heads to avoid notice.

"Ah, Ninth Junior Brother, it's not that I refused to save you. Now that the peak lord of Fragrant Cloud Peak has shown up, you have no choice but to suck it up in the Outer Sect..." Big Fatty Choji heaved continuous sighs in his heart as he hunched his shoulders and tried to inconspicuously scuttle away. However, it was at that point that Taruho's voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"You two are coming along as well." As soon as Big Fatty Choji heard the words, a powerful force dragged both him and Third Fatty Kuro up into the air. They didn't even have a chance to grab onto a tree before they were hauled to the top of the mountain.

"I don't want to go!" Big Fatty Choji wailed, sounding even more miserable than Naruto. "I'd rather die in the Ovens than climb the ladder in the Outer Sect..." He sounded so miserable, in fact, that Naruto looked up in surprise and forgot to cry.

Third Fatty Kuro didn't say anything, but instead looked silently down toward the bottom of the mountain, face a picture of depression and longing.

When Taruho heard Big Fatty Choji's miserable wailing, his face darkened and he said, "Shut up!"

Instantly, Naruto rose to his feet, face solemn as he stood there. Instead of looking sullen like he had before, he was the complete opposite, as if he had suddenly switched faces.

Big Fatty Choji stared in shock, and then immediately stood up. Inwardly, he felt as if the persecution he was enduring was like an ocean that threatened to overwhelm him. He just couldn't figure out why Taruho wouldn't say anything when Naruto wailed, and then yelled at him when he did the same thing.

"Choji, starting today, you'll be an Outer Sect disciple of Violet Cauldron Peak!

"Fuku, you'll be going to Green Crest Peak!

"Naruto, you'll be staying here with me, as an Outer Sect disciple of Fragrant Cloud Peak." Taruho looked at Naruto and felt a headache coming on. He had just gone into secluded meditation when he got the news about the Ovens crew and everything that was going on. Even the sect elders were talking about it. Of course, from their perspective, the whole thing was quite amusing, and a nice break from the monotony of cultivation. None of them were even inclined to dole out any punishment.

However, it wasn't something that could be allowed to go on indefinitely, so Taruho came to straighten matters out.

After he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, ignoring Ebisu and the other two men as he looked at something further up on Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Naruto sighed bitterly and said his goodbyes to Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro. All of a sudden, he remembered something. He turned his head to look at Third Fatty Kuro, a strange expression on his face as he asked, "Third Elder Brother, your name... is actually Fuku? Hahaha! What a good name. It makes you sound like a smoking hot babe!"

Third Fatty Kuro gave a cold but depressed snort, then turned and began to walk down the mountain.

"What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked, looking at Big Fatty Choji.

Big Fatty Choji looked back at him with a strange look in his eyes. Then, he clapped him on the shoulder and spoke, his voice solemn and sincere.

"Ninth Junior Brother, there's something I never told you before. Third Fatty Kuro actually isn't your Elder Brother. In fact... she's your Elder Sister." Clearing his throat, he turned and hurried off.

Naruto stared at him blankly. It felt like thunder was crashing around inside his head, as if the whole world were collapsing.

"Elder... Elder Sister?" After a long moment passed, Naruto took a deep breath and was about to turn and look at Third Fatty Kuro, when suddenly Taruho's cold voice rang out.

"Quit running your mouth and catch up! "

Naruto hurried after Taruho, looking more bitter than ever. After a few paces, he turned, looked back down at the Ovens, and sighed.

It had been quite a while since Naruto learned that the Spirit Stream Sect's north bank had four mountain peaks, and that the south bank had three. Taruho was the peak lord of the third mountain, Fragrant Cloud Peak. The position of peak lord was very distinguished in the sect.

Although Fragrant Cloud Peak didn't look very big, upon entering it, one would realize that it was filled with the singing of birds and the fragrant aroma of flowers. It looked like a celestial paradise, and was actually much larger on the inside than it appeared to be from the outside.

Actually, the finish line of the trial by fire was only the peak of one of the auxiliary spurs of the mountain as a whole, and really only counted as the foot of the mountain.

Mist swirled about everywhere, as well as an occasional medicinal aroma, a single whiff of which would lift the spirits and send a warm feeling through the body. Naruto could immediately tell that this place was extraordinary. He took a deep breath, and his cultivation base, which hadn't made much progress in the past months, instantly surged to life.

Taruho didn't look back, but his eyes gleamed with a bit of admiration. Even he felt that Naruto's progress in cultivation in the past year wasn't bad.

"Now that you're an Outer Sect disciple, you can't go and cause any more trouble," Taruho said slowly. "Practicing cultivation is like rowing a boat against the current. It requires constant effort."

Naruto didn't dare say anything back. He put on the most charming expression he could, and nodded continuously.

"Sect resources are only one aspect of cultivation for Outer Sect disciples," Taruho continued. "You also need to work hard and take advantage of whatever opportunities come your way. There are plenty of missions that you can take on for the sect. In a moment, you can go look at the missions and pick a few to start your training."

When Naruto heard that, his heart suddenly thumped. A while back when flipping through the sect rules, he had noticed one particular rule about Outer Sect disciple being required to accomplish at least one mission every so often. If they didn't, they would be punished by being demoted from Outer Sect disciple to servant.

He immediately went wild with joy. However, Taruho had apparently realized what he was thinking, and coolly said, "Don't go thinking about breaking the sect rules. Other people might be demoted to servant for not accomplishing missions, but if you try something like that, I'll expel you from the sect and return you to your village. A hundred years from now I might even burn some incense for you, if I haven't forgotten about you by then."

That frightened Naruto half to death. If he had never seen this world of immortals, it wouldn't have been so bad. But now that he was on the way to living forever, he had no desire at all to go back to his village. If that happened, he might as well forget about trying to live forever. He quickly smacked himself in the chest and told himself that he would definitely go and accomplish some missions.

Soon, they were in the middle section of Fragrant Cloud Peak. A building appeared out of the mists, not very large, but very elegant-looking. Visible through one of the windows was a young man, who sat there quietly reading a book.

As if having sensed someone approaching, the young man looked up, revealing a handsome-looking face. When he saw Taruho, he immediately walked out of the building and clasped hands in greeting.

"Disciple offers greetings, peak lord."

"This is disciple Naruto. Take him and get him set up in the Outer Sect." Taruho gave Naruto a final look before transforming into a beam of prismatic light that shot further up the mountain.

Now that Taruho was gone, Naruto could heave a sigh of relief. All of a sudden, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and the sky was now blue again.

The young man measured Naruto up, then laughed.

"Ah, are you the guy who's been blocking the trial by fire and selling spots? It's... Naruto, right?"

Naruto chuckled. "You're praising me for nothing, Elder Brother. A small thing like that isn't even worth mentioning."

The young man laughed even harder at that. Clearly, he was very amused by Naruto. Dropping the topic, he began to lead Naruto around Fragrant Cloud Peak, pointing out some of the important buildings along the way.

"Fragrant Cloud Peak occupies an important position on the south bank. Green Crest Peak is known for its sword cultivators, Violet Cauldron Peak for their magical techniques. As for the Fragrant Cloud Peak, we excel in concocting spirit medicines.

"Fragrant Cloud Peak is famous even among the four great sects on this branch of the Heavenspan River. That's especially true of his excellency the peak lord, who is one of the two most famous apothecaries in the Eastwood Continent.

"Therefore, becoming an Outer Sect disciple of Fragrant Cloud Peak also makes you an apprentice apothecary. That means you need to study about plants and vegetation, as well as different medicine concocting techniques." The young man continued to provide even more detailed explanations to Naruto as they walked along. Eventually, they reached the location where Naruto received his Outer Sect disciple clothing and equipment, including a bag of holding.

Although the bag of holding didn't fit much inside, Naruto found the thing to be marvelous. After testing it out a few times, he put it away as carefully as if it were a precious treasure.

What delighted him more than anything else was that getting promoted to Outer Sect disciple also came with a reward of twenty spirit stones. Now, he had just enough to buy the medicinal plants he needed.

Soon it was dusk. Thanks to the explanations provided by the young man, Naruto now knew a lot about Fragrant Cloud Peak. Eventually, the young man led him to a place called the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

From there, he received a jade slip.

"This jade slip describes 10,000 types of plants and vegetation. You need to memorize all of them, and then you can get the second jade slip.

"Junior Brother Naruto, the path of cultivation is a long one, and spirit medicines are an aid that you can't do without. If you can become an apothecary, you'll be able to achieve a meteoric rise here.

"Apprentice apothecary, journeyman apothecary, master apothecary..." the young man said with a smile. "Junior Brother Naruto, your future progress will all depend on what good fortune you encounter." By the time night fell, the young man had led him to the courtyard dwelling the sect had arranged as his residence.

"Junior Brother Naruto, I have to head off the mountain tomorrow, so I won't be able to accompany you to the Scripture Pavilion. Go there at dawn to get the rest of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art mnemonics. You'll also be able to pick one more magical technique from the selection they have there. It's a good opportunity to get some things for free. After that, you'll have to pay merit points for any magical techniques you want.

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can always come looking for me. My name is Amano. Many thanks for taking care of Amaru for me." Amano smiled, clasped hands and bowed. Then he turned and walked away.

"Amano?" Naruto returned the bow and watched Amano walking off. After a moment of thought, he recalled the face of a young woman.

"Amaru!" he thought, blinking. He suddenly realized that he had struck it very lucky, as if he'd shoved a random stick into the ground only to have it grow into a lovely shady tree.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and then looked over at his courtyard residence. His eyes gleamed, and he stood tall and straight beneath the moonlight.

"Well, I guess becoming an Outer Sect disciple isn't that bad after all!" Flicking his sleeve, he walked into the courtyard.

Moonlight flooded down onto Fragrant Cloud Peak of the Spirit Stream Sect, dispersing some of the mists that covered it, and causing the entire scene to be spectacularly beautiful.

About halfway down the east face of the mountain, at the end of a side path, was a courtyard residence. The courtyard itself was as large as a field, and was filled with the delicate fragrance of flowers and plants. The residence itself was a log cabin, complete with a desk and a bed inside, all of which were made from some sort of magenta-colored wood that let off a lovely, fragrant aroma. This place was far superior to anything in the servants' district.

The field in the courtyard had been cleared, and was ready for planting. There was even a well in one corner. Naruto looked around at the moonlit scene, and his eyes sparkled with satisfaction.

"Outer Sect disciples are official disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect, so naturally they get much better compensation than the servants. This residence really isn't bad at all. Although, I remember Eldest Brother saying that Inner Sect disciples get to live in immortal's caves... I wonder what those are like." Naruto looked up toward the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Only Inner Sect disciples qualified to live on the top half of the mountain.

After a while, he went back into the log cabin, where he stretched lazily and then took out his bag of holding. After patting it carefully, a bottle of medicinal pills appeared in front of him, as well as a green stick of incense.

"Wow, this thing is awesome," he thought, rubbing the bag of holding fondly. After a moment, his eyes came to rest on the medicinal pill bottle and the green incense. The pill bottle had a label on it, upon which were written the words 'Spirit Condensation.' As for the incense, the words 'Green Rising' were carved on the side. He had received similar things when he had become a servant. Consuming such pills would increase his cultivation base, and inhaling the smoke from the burning incense stick would have a similar effect.

"Using them as-is would be a big waste. It would be much better to use spirit enhancement on them first. Maybe I could even use them to break through a bottleneck in my cultivation base." After pondering the matter for a bit, he made his decision. However, he only had one-colored firewood on hand, so he decided to go down the mountain the following morning to get something better.

Having made his decision, he sat down cross-legged and began to meditate. When it came to his cultivation, he had never given up. Although his progress had slowed recently, he still spent time every day on it.

The whole purpose to practicing cultivation was to live forever, so of course he would stick to it.

The night passed uneventfully, and soon it was dawn. Sunlight poked through the mist, making it seem as if valuable treasures were descending. Naruto had been cultivating all night. He opened his eyes, donned his Outer Sect disciple clothing, and then hurried out of his log cabin to find the Scripture Pavilion that Elder Brother Hou had mentioned the day before.

The Scripture Pavilion was some distance away from his own residence, on another side of the mountain. It took about an hour of walking before he saw a cluster of towering pagodas off in the distance. They radiated shimmering light, and sent pulsing pressure out in all directions.

He encountered quite a few other Outer Sect disciples, all of whom were hustling about busily. When they sensed that Naruto was only at the third level of Chakra Condensation, they completely ignored him.

Naruto didn't care, but considering that most of the disciples he encountered had cultivation bases far higher than his own, he proceeded cautiously. There were even a few he encountered whose cultivation bases were so high that they were unreadable. Those ones always had crowds of other disciples clustered around them, laughing and chatting with them as they walked along.

The closer he got to the Scripture Pavilion, the more disciples he saw. Just as he was about to enter the area of the building itself, a beam of light flew down toward the area from one of the distant mountain peaks. Within that beam of light, it was possible to see a young man standing on a flying disk, who circled around Fragrant Cloud Peak before flying back off into the distance.

"That's Zori from the Hall of Justice! Elder Brother Zori!"

"Elder Brother Zori is an Inner Sect disciple, and also a member of the Hall of Justice. He's famous! I heard that he's in the great circle of the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, and has access to temporary flight items. I'm so jealous!"

Naruto also looked over jealously. After Zori disappeared, he sighed inwardly.

"One of these days, when I can fly, I'm going take time every day to fly in circles around Fragrant Cloud Peak!" Muttering to himself in anticipation, he began to push his way through the crowd toward the Scripture Pavilion.

The building was huge. The first floor was completely empty except for a long table. Behind the table, an old man sat there with his eyes closed in meditation. All the disciples who wanted to go past him would put their identity medallion onto the table. After it shone with glittering light, they would pass by respectfully.

Copying everyone else, Naruto placed his identity medallion onto the table. It only took a moment for it to glitter, after which he picked it back up and followed the other disciples up the stairs to the second floor.

This floor was filled with numerous shelves, which were packed with jade slips or the occasional bamboo scroll. All of them shimmered with bright light, making the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion an extraordinary place.

Seeing another staircase further off, Naruto looked around and then walked over. However, when he tried to step onto it, his foot bounced back.

A young man was sitting off to the side, with straight eyebrows and a bamboo scroll in his hand. When he sensed what was happening, he looked up at Naruto.

Naruto put on his most charming expression and then curiously asked the young man, "Elder Brother, what qualifications do you need to go up there?"

"What, are you new here?" the young man replied slowly. "You have to be at the fifth level of Chakra Condensation to go up there." With that, he continued to read the bamboo scroll.

Naruto could tell the young man didn't want to be disturbed. Forgetting about the third floor, he began to stroll around the second floor. Occasionally he would pick up a jade slip to examine, or look through some bamboo scrolls. He saw all sorts of different magical techniques, all of which seemed very exciting.

That was especially true of something called the Flame Dao magical technique, which seemed especially exceptional.

After a while, he found a jade slip for the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art. It had descriptions and pictures for the fourth to eighth levels. He quickly grabbed it and then continued to stroll about.

Time passed, and soon evening was approaching. Naruto had browsed about seventy percent of the second floor, and by now, the crowds were thinning.

"These eight seem really incredible..." he thought, looking over his selections. One was a bamboo scroll, somewhat dilapidated, but something that had caused Naruto's eyes to widen with excitement the moment he saw it.

"Undying Live Forever Technique!"

He took a deep breath as he examined the introduction to the technique. Apparently, cultivating this technique to the ultimate degree would make a person undying and also be able to live forever.

Panting, he once again examined the name of the technique, and then decided that this was his decision!

He had begun practicing cultivation for the purpose of living forever, so finding a technique like this one almost made it seem like they were mysteriously connected by destiny. Laughing heartily, he held the bamboo scroll in his hand as he climbed down the stairs.

Back in the main hall of the first floor, the old man was still sitting behind the table with his eyes closed, looking exactly like he had before. However, as soon as Naruto put the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art jade slip and the Undying Live Forever Technique bamboo scroll onto the table, the man's eyes slowly opened.

He looked Naruto up and down, which left Naruto trembling. The man's gaze felt like lightning. Shivering, Naruto immediately put on his most respectful expression.

Thankfully, the old man quickly looked down at Naruto's identity medallion.

"Newly promoted disciples can take a copy of the first eight levels of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art," the old man said slowly, his voice hoarse. "They may also select a technique of their choosing." Then his eyes fell upon the Undying Live Forever Technique bamboo scroll, and he frowned slightly.

"Although the name of this technique sounds astonishing, it's incomplete. Furthermore, the more you cultivate it, the more difficult it becomes. The pain is so excruciating that ordinary people can't endure it. Even most Inner Sect disciples can't cultivate it successfully. The majority give up. It's been here in the Scripture Pavilion for quite some time. Are you sure you want this particular magic?" The old man looked at Naruto.

After hearing the old man's words, Naruto got the feeling that this technique had been waiting here for years just for him. Then he thought again about the words 'undying' and 'live forever', and his blood felt like it was boiling. He immediately responded, "Senior, I definitely want it, very much!"

The old man said nothing further to dissuade him. He waved his right hand, sending two blank jade slips flying out. After the copies were made, he handed them to Naruto, then paid him no more heed and went back to meditating.

Naruto put the jade slips away. Eyes gleaming with anticipation, he left the Scripture Pavilion and headed back to his courtyard residence.

By the time he got back, it was already nighttime. Once again inside his log cabin, he sat down cross-legged, took a deep breath, and pulled out the jade slip for the Undying Live Forever Technique. Then he circulated his spiritual energy and sent it into the jade slip. After closing his eyes, the technique's magical incantation appeared in his mind.

An hour later, he opened his eyes again, and a thoughtful expression could be seen.

Just as the old man had said, the Undying Live Forever Technique was incomplete. According to the description, the technique was cultivated in two ways, internally and externally. It was further broken down into the external aspects of skin, flesh, and muscle.

The internal aspects were bones and blood.

As for this incomplete version, it only contained the technique for cultivating skin. Also, the cultivation method truly did seem to be a torment. Furthermore, to cultivate it required a huge expenditure of resources. However, there were several secret magics listed inside that seemed almost beyond belief. For example, there was one called the Throat Crushing Grasp that was supposedly unbeatable.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then looked once more at the words 'undying' and 'live forever'. Finally, his eyes filled with determination, and he followed the description in the information, using both of his hands to strike various positions on his body.

Naruto was focused on not dying and living forever in a way that vastly outmatched other people. Therefore, he did exactly as the technique required, and beat himself the entire night.

The following day, his whole body hurt. It didn't matter whether he stood up or sat down. Even lifting his arm hurt. And yet, he gritted his teeth and continued to do as the technique manual instructed, and forced himself to move.

"Owwwwwww... Relax then flex... aaaaoooowwwww... flex then relax!" he said, repeating one of the lines from the technique as he hopped and skipped around the courtyard. He let out one miserable shriek after another, and tears were streaming down his face. Finally, he gritted his teeth, grabbed some spirit stones, and headed down the mountain.

He figured that if he had to move around, he might as well just go out and buy the medicinal plants he needed to get the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill. That would be a lot better than doing nothing more than exercising in his courtyard.

Soon, numerous Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak saw a very strange sight. There was a fair-faced young man hopping and skipping about in a very strange fashion. He was also crying out at the top of his lungs in a fashion which almost sounded euphoric.

"Ah ah, oh oh! Ah ah, oh oh! Ah... ah... ah... ah..."

Naruto didn't want to cry out, but the pain was just too much. In fact, it hurt so much that he was pretty sure that even not moving would also hurt. However, all he had to do was think about the words 'undying' and 'live forever', and he continued with vicious determination. And thus he continued all the way down to the market outside of the sect.

Trembling, he bought all of the medicinal plants he needed, as well as some one-colored firewood. The two-colored firewood was much more expensive, so he only bought one piece. After that, he ran out of spirit stones.

Gritting his teeth, he went back to the Missions Office and handed in the mission he had taken when he was still a servant. In return, he got the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill.

The pill was yellow, about as big as his thumbnail, and emanated a strange medicinal aroma. He looked at the pill, his body still burning with so much pain that he could barely talk. Sweat poured down him, soaking him completely.

Clenching his teeth, he climbed back up the steps of Fragrant Cloud Peak, leaving a trail of sweat behind him as he went. He got quite a few surprised and even cynical glances from other Outer Sect disciples. After all, he was really sweating far beyond what was normal.

He really wasn't sure what was going on. By the time he got back to his courtyard residence, it was the middle of the night. As soon as he walked inside, he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

Despite having passed out, the pain woke him up several times through the night. By the time the light of dawn spread out across the sky, though, he woke up and realized that the pain was gone.

"An incomplete minor cycle..." he thought, recalling the technique's introduction. If he could go for a full day and night without passing out, that would be a complete minor cycle. If he could complete eighty-one minor cycles, that would count as a minor circulation. After that, his skin would be changed, and would reach a point that the process wouldn't be so painful.

"If the technique were simple, everyone would do it, and then everyone would be able to live forever. The harder it is, the more I'm going to cultivate it! Then I'll really be undying and able to live forever!" His eyes filled with determination; his obsession with living forever was strong, and had reached a truly astonishing level.

Now that his body didn't hurt any more, he pulled out the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill and studied it. He was just about to eat it when all of a sudden he seemed to recall something. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he hurried into his log cabin and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing the turtle-wok to appear.

"To consume it the way it is would be a big loss. The best thing to do is eat it after doing a spirit enhancement." Licking his lips, he produced the two-colored flame firewood and kindled it beneath the turtle-wok. Immediately, the log burst into flames, and moments later, became ash. At the same time, two glowing designs appeared on the turtle-wok.

After a moment of hesitation, he placed the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill inside. Almost as soon as the spirit medicine entered the wok, silver light flashed. Having experienced this before, Naruto's expression didn't change in the least, and he continued to stare at the wok.

After a moment, the silver light faded away and, shockingly, two silver designs could be seen on the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill. The medicinal aroma which floated off of it was now much stronger than it had been before, so strong that a mere sniff would enliven the spirits.

"It's too bad I don't have anything to make a three-colored flame." He picked up the spirit medicine and put it into his mouth. The instant it melted, it transformed into a scalding current that swept through his body.

Naruto felt his mind rumbling, and his body felt like a furnace. However, even as he was consumed by heat, the white hair on his head turned black again. A powerful surge of life force replenished him, and after a moment, he could tell that it was even stronger than before. A bit of blood oozed out of his nose.

"Major success!" he thought, his eyes widening. He immediately began to cultivate the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, but found that there was little difference. After all, this spirit medicine replenished vital energy, not spiritual energy. More blood flowed out of his nose, and the scalding current inside of him expanded. He felt like he was an inflatable ball that was on the verge of popping. Astonishment filled him.

Actually, the result of performing a twofold enhancement on the spirit medicine ensured that the result vastly exceeded anything from before, and was far more valuable. Naruto's cultivation base, which was at the third level of Chakra Condensation, simply couldn't take it.

At this critical juncture, he suddenly thought of the Undying Live Forever Technique. He immediately leapt up and began hitting himself as hard as possible.

Popping sounds rang out, and the scalding current began to clear up. Naruto didn't dare to stop. It wasn't until an hour later that the current faded away completely. He was in so much pain that he fell down onto the ground, panting for air. However, he looked more excited than ever, and his eyes shone with an intense gleam.

"It has something to do with the spirit enhancement, but the main thing was that spirit medicine. Spirit medicine... is remarkable... It can increase spiritual energy and can increase longevity... Well, I wonder if there's a type of medicine that can make people live forever!" The more he thought about it, the more excited he got, and the brighter his eyes shone.

"Fragrant Cloud Peak trains apothecaries...

"Well then, I'm going to become an apothecary. I'm going to make... a Live-Forever Never-Die Pill!" Naruto began to pant, and his intrigue for spirit medicine reached an unheard-of level.

Naruto lay there in the courtyard, filled with that obsessiveness of his. His body ached, and yet somehow he could tell that his skin was tougher than before. That made him look forward more than ever to becoming an apothecary.

After laying there in the courtyard for more than an hour, the shaky, painful feeling eventually faded away. Naruto crawled into a cross-legged position, eyes flickering as he patted his bag of holding to produce the medicinal pills and medicinal incense.

After closer inspection, he took a deep breath, looked around furtively, then headed back into the log cabin, where he once again took out the turtle-wok.

"I could consume this medicinal pill as is. But after I do a spirit enhancement, it should be able to break my cultivation base through from the third level of Chakra Condensation to the fourth. It's too bad that two-colored firewood is so expensive. The Ovens has some, but I'm not longer a servant there anymore, which makes things complicated." Naruto's excitement regarding the medicinal pill continued to grow. After a bit of thought, he ceased any hesitation and produced a piece of one-colored firewood.

"I'll just do a basic enhancement! That'll be good enough!" He quickly lit the firewood, and the resulting one-colored flame caused the first turtle-wok design to light up. He opened the medicinal pill bottle and poured out the three medicinal pills it contained, all of which were as large as longan fruits.

After performing three spirit enhancements, flickering silver designs could be seen on the surface of the medicinal pills. He also enhanced the green incense. In the end, he sat there looking at the four different spirit medicines upon which he had performed a basic enhancement. Finally, he placed the incense stick in front of him and then popped the three medicinal pills into his mouth.

Then he examined the pictures in the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art manual, and followed the mnemonics as he began to practice cultivation. Soon, the spiritual energy in his body was seething. He could now maintain the posture for much longer than before, and he could feel his cultivation base rising rapidly.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the little river of spiritual energy inside of him was flowing through his body, and he could sense that he was nearing a breakthrough to the fourth level of Chakra Condensation.

"I just need to hold on for one hundred breaths of time, and I can break through!" He gritted his teeth as he continued to maintain the posture in the fourth picture. His body was swelling up so much that he felt like a ball, and cracking sounds could be heard inside of him. Great beads of sweat were rolling off of him.

It was at this point that the spiritual energy began to wane. Naruto's eyes narrowed in concentration, and he blew a mouthful of spiritual energy onto the green incense stick in front of him.

As soon as the spiritual energy touched the green incense, it lit up, causing tendrils of green smoke to swirl about like green snakes. They flew through the air, entering into Naruto's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and then turning into strong spiritual energy. Within moments, the river of spiritual energy inside of him had doubled in size.

Rumbling could be heard as a wind-like shockwave rolled out from Naruto, spreading out through the cabin and then into the courtyard. His eyes opened, and they shone with pleasure.

"The fourth level of Chakra Condensation!" he exclaimed, laughing.

He could immediately sense the spiritual energy surging through him, carrying with it a strong life force. He felt more agile, and when he looked down, he saw black filth caked all over his body. That would be the impurities within his body that had just been forced out.

His body flickered as he floated out of the log cabin. After tidying up the courtyard a bit, he stood there feeling very energized. He quickly performed an incantation gesture and waved his finger, causing his wooden sword to fly out of his bag of holding in a streak of light.

He sent it flying back and forth, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. The wooden sword was already extraordinary, but now that it was combined with the cultivation base of the fourth level of Chakra Condensation, it possessed an even more striking air.

"Spirit enhancement is pretty awesome. It would be great if I could use a three-colored flame, though. A medicinal pill like that would be incredible!" The more he thought about it, the more miraculous spirit medicine seemed to be. Regardless of whether it was in pill form or incense form, it was definitely an absolute necessity for practicing cultivation.

"I'm definitely going to become an amazing apothecary! I'll concoct a Live-Forever Never-Die Pill! Then I'll enhance it tenfold-no, wait, I'll enhance it a hundredfold!" Naruto's desire to become an apothecary was growing stronger. Suddenly, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a jade slip.

It was none other than the jade slip given him by Amano when they had gone to the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion together. Inside were images of 10,000 types of plants and vegetation. Only Fragrant Cloud Peak had ancient records of this type, and they were something that all apprentice apothecaries had to master.

Of course, a mere 10,000 types of plants and vegetation was only the beginning. According to Amano, after memorizing those, you could acquire another volume.

With a look of resolve, he circulated his spiritual energy, and images of various types of plants and vegetation rose up in his mind. He was filled with a strange feeling, as if a whole new page of life had opened up in front of him. There were even descriptions of the medicinal plants needed to trade for an Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill.

After examining the contents of the jade slip, he realized that memorizing each of the 10,000 items wouldn't really be that difficult. However, he wasn't just any old person. His goal was to become a great apothecary who could concoct a Live-Forever Never-Die Pill.

The vicious determination concealed in his personality once again exploded out. This was not just memorizing a simple list; he had to carefully observe all of the details of each type of medicinal plant. Only after understanding a plant fully could he move on to the next one.

Back when he had been under such pressure because of Sora, he had practiced cultivation like mad for the better part of half a year. Now, with even grander aspirations, a similar thing was occurring.

He studied the medicinal plants down to the tiniest detail, until he could close his eyes and recall an image of each and every one.

However, he still felt as if that wasn't enough, and wished he could study the actual items to make his research complete. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about that. All he could do was carefully research what he had at his disposal, which included the shapes of the leaves and the patterns of the veins.

Even that wasn't enough for Naruto though. He also studied the roots and the fruits. It was almost as if the plants themselves were right in front of him, several times their normal size and dug up out of the ground for him to study.

After that, he still didn't feel confident enough. Next, he studied the tiny hairs growing on the plants, and even the tiny pore-like openings beneath them.

Time passed. Soon, a month had gone by. During that time, he spent time every day practicing the fourth level of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, and was getting much more comfortable with his cultivation base. At the same time, he hadn't forgotten about the Undying Live Forever Technique. Every day, he endured the pain as he ran around his courtyard practicing it, simultaneously memorizing the plants and vegetation from the jade slip. Unfortunately, the jade slip had no table of contents, so he wasn't sure exactly how many he had memorized so far.

In addition to exercising in his courtyard, he would often stop by the spirit field in the corner, where he was growing ten medicinal plants.

These ten plants were spiritwinter bamboo. He had gone to Fragrant Cloud Peak's Outer Sect disciple Mission Stele half a month before and selected a simple, non-dangerous mission to get them.

Naruto didn't dare to forget what Taruho had told him. Sect disciples needed to complete at least one mission every half year; it was a sect rule that Naruto had kept firmly planted in mind.

The merit point reward for this mission was significant, and could actually be even higher depending on how many goods were turned in at the end. It was a simple mission, but required quite a bit of time wastage; he had to care for the plants for three months before he could hand the mission in.

Of course, the spiritwinter bamboo could be catalyzed by a cultivator's spiritual energy, which would make it grow faster. Unfortunately, Naruto had no time to test that method, and had simply planted the seeds in his spirit field as soon as he had gotten back.

"You grow so slowly," he said, looking down at the spirit field. From the description in the jade slip, he knew that spiritwinter bamboo required a lot of spiritual energy to grow properly. If the soil it was growing in didn't have strong spiritual energy, then the cultivator would need to add spiritual energy personally.

He squatted down and picked up a handful of soil from the spirit field. After a moment, he muttered, "I bet this spirit field doesn't have enough spiritual energy, and that's why the spiritwinter bamboo is growing so slowly.

"What can I do to get the spirit field's spiritual energy to be a bit stronger...?" After a moment of thought, his expression lit up, and he extended his right hand, within which materialized the turtle-wok.

He looked at the wok, and then back at the spirit field, and his eyes began to shine.

"If this wok can enhance anything, then... I should be able to perform a spirit enhancement on the spirit soil, right?" Feeling very curious all of a sudden, he quickly dug up the spiritwinter bamboo seeds, then filled the turtle-wok with spirit soil and produced a piece of one-colored firewood to perform a test.

Soon, silver light flashed, and the spirit soil in the turtle-wok glowed with the design of a basic spirit enhancement. The light quickly faded, but the spirit soil clearly emanated a much stronger spiritual energy than before.

Naruto was delighted. Not feeling the slightest bit inconvenienced whatsoever, he quickly began to enhance one wokful of spirit soil after another. After more than an hour had passed, when he was just about out of one-colored firewood, the entire spirit field had benefited from a basic spirit enhancement.

Of course, that was only the top level of soil. He didn't have enough firewood to go any lower. Therefore, because there was no foundation for the spirit soil, after enough time passed, it would gradually return to normal.

Even so, the current spiritual energy in the spirit field had undergone a heaven-shaking, earth-toppling transformation, and was so strong that it caused a fragrant aroma to swirl about.

Naruto immediately planted the spiritwinter bamboo seeds again, then stood off to the side watching. It didn't take long before some tiny buds popped up and began to grow rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, they were almost a meter tall. In fact, if disciples in the sect who were adept at growing medicinal plants saw what was happening, they would certainly gasp. Even if a cultivator skillfully nourished the plants with spiritual energy, they wouldn't grow so fast.

After all... no one in the cultivation world had ever been so extravagant as to perform spirit enhancement on soil, all for the purpose of growing ten stalks of spiritwinter bamboo...

Not even the famous grandmasters of spirit enhancement would ever think to do such a thing; it was simply far too much of a waste.

Seeing that the spiritwinter bamboo was now growing well, Naruto felt very pleased. He turned back and continued to jog around the courtyard, simultaneously studying the plants and vegetation in the jade slip.

The sun was setting, and the sky grew dark. Considering that the stalks of spiritwinter bamboo had already grown higher than a meter, and had apparently still not reached its full height, it was hard to say... exactly how tall they would be in three months...

That night, Naruto finally put the jade slip down. After vicious hard work, he had finally thoroughly memorized all 10,000 types of plants and vegetation. He had even found some areas in the descriptions of the medicinal plants that revealed how they conflicted with other medicinal plants.

"Tomorrow morning, I'm going to go get the second volume about plants and vegetation. I wonder what the test at the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion will be like. Can I really pass it?"

Naruto set his chin and flicked his sleeve. He had just been planning on uttering some bold and audacious words, but then, just couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. Clearing his throat, he picked up the jade slip again and began to study some more. He just couldn't shake the fear that some problem would come up in the test.

"Hahaha! Elder Sister Kurenai did it! Didn't I say she would get another unprecedented first place spot!?"

"She definitely deserves to have that plants and vegetation spirit meridian. Her options for the future are endless!"

"Elder Sister Kurenai, we'll be waiting for you to set another record. When you get first place in all ten, the Great Spirit Stream Bell will toll to notify the whole sect!" All of the surrounding Outer Sect disciples were cheering. Although there were a few disgruntled faces to be seen, and a few sharply spoken words, they were drowned out by the overwhelming applause. Kurenai's position among the disciples here was like the sun within the sky. In fact, she was well regarded by virtually everyone on Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Although she was normally quite cold, the applause of the surrounding disciples couldn't help but make her feel a bit pleased with herself, and she smiled slightly. That smile caused the cheering to grow even louder.

Naruto stood there in the crowd, feeling quite envious of her. Muttering to himself, he looked back at the first stone stele and suddenly, his eyes went wide. Then he looked back down at the jade slip with the first volume of plants and vegetation, and after closer scrutiny, he realized that in addition to the original 10,000 types of plants and vegetation, another 10,000 had been added. His heart suddenly swelled with joy.

He then turned his head to look at the first stone stele, and saw that right above the magic bottle insignia was the image of a turtle. Suddenly, he felt wonderful.

He had originally planned to leave immediately. But now, filled with excitement, he waited to hear the audience begin to applaud his accomplishment. However, it quickly became apparent that everyone was only paying attention to Kurenai, and hadn't even noticed what had just occurred. In fact, even Kurenai was preparing to depart.

Naruto immediately started getting nervous. Blinking, he suddenly called out in his most astonished voice: "Look! Elder Sister Kurenai isn't in first place on the first stone stele anymore! Somebody else took her place! Weird! Now there's a really cool-looking turtle there. I wonder who drew that?"

His voice pierced through the cheering, and as people heard the shocking nature of his words, they started to turn around to look at the stone stele. Soon, faces fell, and cries of alarm rang out.

That in turn caused more people to spin around in shock. Expressions of disbelief could be seen as more and more people began to stare at the text on the first stone stele.

"Th-th... somebody actually passed up Elder Sister Kurenai on the first stone stele!"

"That's impossible! Heavens! Somebody surpassed Elder Sister Kurenai, and with that ugly-looking turtle. Who could it be?!"

"There's actually somebody who can pose a challenge to Elder Sister Kurenai in terms of skill with plants and vegetation? This is ground-breaking! Elder Sister Kurenai just took first place on the ninth stone stele, but she still only has a total of eight first place positions!"

Everyone was in an uproar, and the sounds of discussion filled the air. Moments ago, everyone had been cheering Kurenai, and could not possibly have been prepared for something unexpected like this to happen.

Naruto stood there in the crowd, so pleased with himself that he almost started laughing. However, he knew that doing so wouldn't be very appropriate, so he held himself back. Instead, he cried out in shock like everyone else around him.

Actually, he had never had even the slightest clue that he could actually take first place.

It was at this point that Kurenai, who had just been on the verge of leaving, suddenly trembled where she stood. After hearing the cries echoing out around her, her phoenix-like eyes turned to look at the first stone stele, and she saw the turtle in the first place spot.

At first she frowned, but then her expression calmed. In fact, she wasn't even shocked at all. As far as she was concerned, when she had taken first place in the test of the first volume of plants and vegetation, it had been just after she was promoted into the Outer Sect. Back then, she hadn't tried as hard as she could have when she took the test, and that was not to mention the advancement she had made since then.

"Not bad," she said coolly. "It looks like there might be a new rising star in the sect." With that, her body flickered as she shot toward the first stone stele.

In her mind, this was a simple matter. The moment someone exceeded her, she would take back what was hers.

Her movement immediately caused a ripple of excitement to run through the crowd of disciples. All of them stared in anticipation as Kurenai walked into the log cabin to take the test for the first volume of plants and vegetation.

"Elder Sister Kurenai is going to take back the first place spot which rightfully belongs to her! Whichever Junior Brother drew that turtle seems pretty good. What a pity that he'll only be able to stay in first place for the time it takes an incense stick to burn."

"Well, that's how it should be. He's definitely Chosen when it comes to plants and vegetation. He's just unlucky to have encountered Elder Sister Kurenai."

After hearing what everyone was saying, Naruto started feeling nervous. Not only had he run out of time, but Kurenai was simply too famous.

Even he himself was starting to think that maybe he belonged in second place.

"Ah, that's fine too," he consoled himself. "If I get in second place, then second place it is. Men shouldn't be fighting women anyway!" He wanted to leave, but couldn't quite make himself do so. He couldn't stop wondering about whether or not he would lose out on what he had just won.

Soon, enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and the name list hadn't changed. Naruto was still in first place, and Kurenai was now walking out from inside the log cabin. Her expression was calm, and she was completely confident, having used eighty percent of her skill to piece together 4,000 of the total of 10,000 medicinal plants.

From her perspective, she had already outclassed all the other naturally gifted disciples.

However, as soon as she walked out, she realized that not a sound could be heard. In fact, all eyes were staring at her with strange expressions. There were even looks of shock.

She looked around blankly, then turned to inspect the stone stele. It was at this point that she realized that the magic bottle which represented her name was still beneath the ugly turtle.

Everything was dead quiet, and all the surrounding disciples, even Naruto, were staring with gaping jaws. Naruto then looked over at Kurenai and realized that, other than being quite good-looking... maybe she wasn't that special after all.

Kurenai's eyes narrowed briefly, and then her expression returned to normal.

"This person really has some talent with plants and vegetation. Now I'm a bit curious to find out who he is." Her body flickered and she once again entered the log cabin.

This time, Naruto didn't even think about leaving. He stood there in the crowd, holding his breath in anticipation. The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were no longer discussing the matter in loud voices. Instead, they were whispering in hushed tones, watching the unprecedented scene playing out in front of them.

Furthermore, many of them were glancing up at the turtle mark, which now seemed utterly mysterious to them. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Kurenai emerged once again, and that enigmatic sensation increased.

The turtle... was still on top!

Naruto's eyes went wide, and then he cried out in a loud voice to incite the other disciples: "Heavens, who is this person!?"

Finally, the crowd, which had been silent up until now, exploded with conversation.

"Elder Sister Kurenai tried twice and yet didn't surpass the turtle! How could this be happening? How many medicinal plants did that person complete!?"

"Did anybody see which Elder Brother it was that just took the test?"

Kurenai stood beneath the stone stele, frowning. Just now, she had used all the skill she possessed to piece together 6,000 plants. She could never have imagined that she would still be stuck in second place.

Her eyes narrowed, and she gave a cold harrumph as she spun and walked back into the log cabin, a very serious look in her eyes.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, she emerged again, her expression grave. She turned yet again and went back in, and the same amount of time passed before she emerged, face pale. Expression staunch, she once again entered.

Once. Twice. Three times. Four times...

The surrounding cultivators were panting as they watched Kurenai try over and over again. However, the end result was that everyone lapsed into complete silence.

The scene playing out in front of them was terrifying. They could never have possibly imagined that whoever owned the turtle insignia could have pieced together so many medicinal plants, and so thoroughly surpassed Kurenai.

As of that moment, everyone was completely thunderstruck by the turtle.

That was especially true of Kurenai, who once again emerged, her beautiful eyes shot with blood. Everyone in the audience gasped.

Naruto couldn't help but clear his throat. Right now, he couldn't just blurt out that he was the person in first place. However, the desire to do that very thing itched in his heart like a restless cat. Actually, it was a wonderful feeling.

"Now's not the time," he thought. "I'll find an opportunity in the future to make a big scene in front of everybody. I'll make sure everyone knows that the person who holds the first place spot on the first stone stele is none other than me, Naruto!" Looking up, he realized that it was getting dark, and yawned, looking like the picture of a lonely hero.

"With the snap of a finger, I, Naruto, reduced Kurenai to nothing more than ash..." With that, he flicked his sleeve and turned, walking away through the crowd.

As he departed, Kurenai gritted her teeth, and stubbornly entered the log cabin to once again take the test for the first volume of plants and vegetation...

Eventually, the moon hung high in the sky, and Kurenai stood there, completely exhausted as she stared up at the turtle. She could never have predicted that a day like this would come, that something like this would happen.

The crowds departed, and word of the turtle became the talk of Fragrant Cloud Peak.

One would think that the matter was over, but the next day, as the sun shone down onto the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, the disciples were shocked to see Kurenai return and once again go into the first stone stele's log cabin. Yet again, she failed, over and over.

One day, two days, three days... For a full three days, she never gave up. Soon, the gossip about the turtle disciple had reached a fever pitch in Fragrant Cloud Peak.

There was not a single person who hadn't heard about the matter, and even the Inner Sect disciples were talking about it.

Seven days later, Kurenai stood beneath the stone stele, staring up listlessly at the turtle. She had tried over and over again during the past seven days. She had held nothing back, and had even pushed herself to the point of piecing together 7,000 plants. However, she still couldn't surpass that mysterious disciple.

"Just who are you?!" she murmured. Finally, she took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and turned to leave. She would no longer attempt to compete over the first stele. However, the image of that turtle was now burned deeply into her psyche.


	5. Chapter 5

The comfortable life of an Outer Sect disciple on Fragrant Cloud Peak was great for Naruto. Although he missed the delicious food he had access to back in the Ovens, everything else was quite satisfactory.

In terms of his progress in cultivation, and his research into plants and vegetation, he truly felt as if he was living life to the fullest. The only downside was that his courtyard residence was relatively remote, and there was no one around to chat with, so he got bored sometimes.

"Could it be that all cultivators are so lonely?" he thought, sighing as he stood there in the courtyard looking up into the sky. Somehow, he felt much older and more grown up.

The winds of autumn had passed, and snow had begun to fall occasionally, causing the temperature to drop significantly. Snowflakes drifted about in the air, and the spiritwinter bamboo in Naruto's courtyard was growing strong and healthy. They were now taller than Naruto himself, and emerald green in color. They were like a splash of spring in the middle of the winter cold.

A month had passed since he had taken first place on the first stone stele of plants and vegetation. However, the second volume of plants and vegetation was much more difficult than he'd anticipated, causing his research to slow. But that didn't change the most important thing to him, which was that Kurenai never took back the first place spot on the first stone stele. Unfortunately, Naruto still felt a lot of pressure to be able to piece together all of the incomplete medicinal plants that he hadn't been able to before.

"I have an amazing reputation now. I can't let that wench Kurenai surpass me." From that moment, Naruto decided that he would continue to work harder and harder until he reached his secret goal of being able to proudly announce in front of everyone that he was Apothecary Turtle.

Although his progress with the second volume of plants and vegetation was slow, his cultivation of the Undying Live Forever Technique was rapidly nearing the point where he would be able to achieve a full minor circulation.

Although the pain only continued to get worse, Naruto remained completely focused on the terms 'undying' and 'live forever'.

"Three more days. According to the description of the Undying Live Forever Technique, in three days I'll be able to complete a minor circulation." Naruto took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and continued to speed around his courtyard, simultaneously studying the second volume of plants and vegetation.

The three days passed by quickly. On the evening of the third day, it began to snow, covering the Spirit Stream Sect in a blanket of shimmering silver.

Naruto was in the middle of running when a tremor ran through him, and he suddenly stopped in place. The pain that he had been enduring for the past eighty-one days suddenly vanished.

A flow of heat exploded through him, converging on his skin, which felt as if it were broiling in an oven.

The snowflakes melted before they could even get near him, instantly transforming into a white mist.

"It worked!" he exclaimed ecstatically, despite his dry throat. Although he felt like he was on fire, when he looked down, he saw a black light flowing over his skin, which circulated around him and then vanished.

He then poked his arm with his right hand, and could tell how incredibly tough it was. His eyes shone, and shook his arms and legs a bit. Instantly, he could tell that he was much faster than before. He started to run forward, then let out a cry of shock as he appeared several meters away in the blink of an eye.

He could now move twice as fast as he could before. Completely delighted, Naruto ran around a bit to test out his new speed, and was very satisfied.

Without any further hesitation, he used the Undying Live Forever Technique mnemonic to continue practicing cultivation. This new method involved closing his mouth and nose and then attempting to breathe through his skin. An inhalation and exhalation counted as a minor cycle. He needed to practice eighty-one minor cycles per day for eighty-one days to complete a minor circulation.

If he could accomplish that, then, combined with the painful minor circulation he had already completed, he would have made his initial success in acquiring the Undying Skin.

After practicing a few times, Naruto got the knack of it and struggled to get through one minor cycle. Afterward, his body seemed much more gaunt.

He also felt incredibly hungry, and gurgling sounds could be heard coming from his stomach. He ignored that, and continued breathing, causing his body to get even skinnier. After breathing in and out fifteen times, his body looked like nothing more than a bag of bones.

It was as if all the nutrients that existed inside of him had been sucked out of him. However, his skin looked even more resilient than before.

Naruto couldn't hold on any longer. His vision was fading, and his eyes had turned green from the indescribable hunger which filled him. He was so hungry that he could eat an elephant in a single bite.

"This isn't working, I'm starving to death!" He looked around, salivating, only to realize that there was nothing in the area to eat except for the verdant bamboo he was growing, which at the moment looked quite attractive.

Unable to hold back because of the incredible hunger, he sped over to the spiritwinter bamboo and took a big bite out of one of them.

Crunching sounds could be heard as he ripped out a huge chunk and began to chomp it down. After swallowing, his face twisted, and he shivered from the bitter flavor.

"Too bitter... I need to eat some real food..." He suddenly missed the Ovens more than ever. Never before in his life had he ever been this hungry, so hungry that he felt like he was going to faint. His eyes were turning even more green, and he was panting. Finally, he bolted out of the courtyard.

Racing down the mountain path at top speed, he would occasionally encounter other Outer Sect disciples. To them, it felt like a wind was blowing past their bodies, and they turned in shock to stare at Naruto running off into the distance.

He raced down the mountain, into the servants' district and straight toward the Ovens. Not wanting to waste time opening the door, he flew over the main gate.

The Ovens crew was in the middle of cooking. Now that Big Fatty Choji and Third Fatty Kuro were gone, Second Fatty Chikara had become the leader. He was currently ladling out some rice gruel into a bowl, when suddenly a wind blasted in his face, and the bowl was gone, to be replaced by Naruto's gaping mouth.

"Huh?" Second Fatty Chikara was startled, and stood there gaping for a moment. Before anybody could say anything, Naruto grabbed one of the nearby woks and began to guzzle it down. Apparently that wasn't enough, because he then simply dunked his head into the wok, draining the rice gruel...

One wok, two woks, three woks... Naruto rapidly drank down a hundred woks of gruel. He was like a bottomless pit, and still didn't feel close to being full.

"Still hungry! This isn't working! I'm so hungry... I need meat!" He looked around frantically and quickly caught sight of the mountains of meat that were his Elder Brothers.

The fatties of the Ovens stared at Naruto in shock. They had seen hungry people before, but had never seen someone this hungry. It was like the ghost of a person who had died from starvation.

Then they realized that he was staring at them and salivating. Second Fatty Chikara suddenly backed up rapidly, simultaneously shouting, "Ninth Fatty, quickly, there's some spirit food in the kitchen that we prepared for Elder Obito!"

Naruto's eyes gleamed, and he immediately charged toward the kitchen.

Outside, Second Fatty Chikara and the others exchanged dismayed glances.

"Did you see that? That's the fate in store for people who become Outer Sect disciples. Look at how hungry little Junior Brother is..."

"You could beat me to death before I agree to become an Outer Sect disciple!" The other fatties were all completely determined to hold fast to their decision, although they felt bad for Naruto.

At the moment, Naruto was doing his best to control himself and abide by the six lines of truth from the Ovens. He would only nibble the edges, and not eat the entire item. After all, if he broke the rules, that could implicate his Elder Brothers, which was something he would never do.

After drinking the gruel and nibbling the edges of the spirit food, Naruto's hunger had been reduced a bit. He could deal with it now, so he walked out of the kitchen, wanting to cry but not able to find any tears. This Undying Live Forever Technique was far too terrifying. Although he didn't have to deal with any pain now, the hunger was enough to drive a person mad.

"Second Elder Brother..." he said, looking nervously at Second Fatty Chikara.

Seeing that Naruto looked normal again, Second Fatty Chikara finally felt relieved. He walked up and patted him on the shoulder in sympathy.

"Little Junior Brother, don't worry. Thankfully, we were already preparing some food for Elder Obito. Look at how hungry you are! Ai. From now, you come back more often to fill up, alright?"

Naruto was very moved. However, he gritted his teeth and decided that he would do the opposite. After all, one day if he ever reached the point where he lost control, he might end up clearing out the entire Ovens...

Second Fatty Chikara and the others escorted him out, and Naruto sighed continuously as he trekked back up Fragrant Cloud Peak. All of a sudden, the wonderful, carefree feeling from before was gone, replaced by despair. He really was scared of starving himself to death now.

"I wonder if there really were some Spirit Stream Sect disciples who died from starvation in the past. I definitely don't want to be the first." Scowling miserably, he was in the middle of trying to figure out how to resolve the food and hunger issue when suddenly he heard a rooster crowing off in the distance.

The sound caused him to pause in place and slowly turn his head to stare in the direction of the crowing.

"Chickens..." Looking around to ensure that nobody was watching him, he ducked into a nearby thicket, vanishing with a whoosh. Then he began to slink along like a weasel.

Moments later, he appeared outside the fence that surrounded Fragrant Cloud Peak's spirit fowl farm. Inside were a group of chickens strutting around arrogantly, as large as calves, with three-colored tails. Naruto eyed them with glistening eyes, and began to salivate.

"Meat..." he murmured, then began to chuckle, a strange sound that, when coupled with his wide smile, was completely terrifying.

Spirit tail chickens were far larger than ordinary chickens. They had very resilient feathers and extremely ferocious temperaments. After reaching full maturity, they were comparable to the second level of Chakra Condensation.

Not only was their meat edible, so were their eggs. Their blood and bones could be added to medicines, and when you burned their tails, they could create rare, three-colored flames. Because of all that, large amounts of spirit tail chickens were being raised in all of the three mountains on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect.

However, they did not actually belong to the sect itself. Instead, they were the personal property of Taruho and the Peak Lords of the other two mountain peaks, who assigned certain disciples to raise them and take care of them. On Fragrant Cloud Peak, there were three areas specially set aside to breed them.

Naruto crouched in the thicket looking at the spirit tail chickens. Back when he had worked in the Ovens, he had never seen the chickens alive, but had eaten their meat and knew it was delicious. Furthermore, Big Fatty Choji had mentioned that they loved to eat spirit bugs.

After observing the chickens for a while, Naruto flickered into motion. He did not do anything rash, but instead went back down the mountain, where he spent some spirit stones to buy some spirit bugs, after which he returned to his courtyard residence.

By the time he got back, he was so hungry that he had to fight not to faint, and immediately began to look around for something to eat.

It didn't take long for his gaze to fall upon the spiritwinter bamboo, whereupon his eyes began to shine. The bamboo stalks were already around three meters tall, and thick as a fist. From the spirit glow they emanated, they seemed far beyond ordinary.

Naruto immediately hurried over and began to walk around the bamboo stalks, laughing heartily as he studied them closely. Based on what he had studied about plants and vegetation, he was quickly able to identify the toughest among the various stalks, which he cut off at the base and then sliced in half.

When it came to stealing chickens, Naruto had a very special method. The key lay in the word 'steal' itself. Being able to get the chickens without anyone noticing was an art form.

He quickly used some of the bamboo to craft a device called a bamboo cicada.

He had learned how to make bamboo cicadas from his father when he was young. Supposedly, they were effective in catching all sorts of creatures from chickens to phoenixes. Once the bamboo cicada itself was finished, he used some strips of bamboo to weave a cord. After finishing that, he tested out the cord's strength, tied it to the bamboo cicada, then flew out into the darkness of night.

"I'm gonna eat chicken!" His stomach grumbled, but his eyes were shining with a green light. Because of how starving he was, he moved even faster than normal, and soon arrived at the spirit tail chicken farm.

As he neared, he tiptoed up to the fence, placed a spirit insect onto the bamboo cicada, then threw the bamboo cicada over the fence. Next, he crouched hungrily off to the side, holding the cord, which was attached to the cicada.

Further inside the fence were some log cabins, where certain Outer Sect disciples resided and practiced cultivation. The chicken farm was quite large, with over a hundred spirit tail chickens, most of whom were laying on the ground. A few were walking about, occasionally sticking their heads up haughtily and looking around. After a bit of time passed, one of the spirit tail chickens seemed to have noticed something. It turned and looked at something a ways away, then walked over. It immediately saw the spirit insect sitting there, prompting it to peck its beak down to grab it.

However, as soon as the spirit tail chicken pecked at the spirit insect, right at the critical moment, the bent piece of bamboo snapped open, ingeniously forcing the chicken's beak open.

The spirit tail chicken wanted to cry out, but its beak was stuck open, and it couldn't emit any sounds. Then it tried to close its beak and crush the bamboo, but the bamboo was too resilient, and its efforts were in vain.

No matter how the spirit tail chicken struggled, it couldn't make a peep as it was quickly dragged toward the fence, then up and over, straight into Naruto's hands. Naruto quickly drew upon the power of the fourth level of Chakra Condensation, sending massive amounts of force into his hands, which he used to snap the chicken's neck. Then he tossed it into his bag of holding. From the way he moved, it seemed he was quite a veteran when it came to this sort of thing.

The entire affair took only about thirty breaths of time, and most of that time had been spent lying in wait. Were it not for that, it would have been accomplished even faster.

Naruto raced excitedly back to his courtyard residence, whereupon a fragrant aroma soon filled the air. By dawn, the entire chicken was now in Naruto's belly.

The only thing left were the feathers and the bones scattered about...

After eating the entire spirit tail chicken, most of Naruto's hunger was abated. Having replenished his body, he now felt quite warm and comfortable.

In fact, he even seemed to have a bit more spiritual energy inside. However, the most apparent change had to do with his Undying Live Forever Technique. Naruto immediately began to breathe in and out, for roughly eight cycles.

With every inhalation and exhalation, pulsating warmth would spread through his body and then converge on his skin. That in turn caused his skin to become tougher and more resilient. It even flickered with a black light. However, if you looked closely, it was just as fair and clear as before.

"The Undying Live Forever Technique starts with pain, then moves to hunger. This type of cultivation is definitely quite difficult, however, the results are excellent." With that, he extended his right hand, within which appeared his wooden sword. Then, he carefully and softly tapped the blade onto the back of his hand.

The wooden sword had a twofold spirit enhancement, but when it touched his skin, Naruto could sense a faint force of resistance. He ceased any testing, more convinced than ever that he needed to continue cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique.

"According to the description, the Undying Skin has four stages: iron, bronze, silver, and gold. Right now I've just started. But if I can last for eighty-one days... I should be able to develop Undying Iron Skin." Naruto looked around at the scattered chicken bones, and in his heart, he now realized what was the key to successfully cultivating the Undying Iron Skin.

"Thankfully, there are plenty of spirit tail chickens on the mountain," he thought, laughing heartily. He was now more interested in the spirit tail chickens than ever.

What he didn't know was that in the past 10,000 years in the Spirit Stream Sect, very few people had ever cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique. Most who did ended up quitting during the terrifying torment that was the first eighty-one days. Although some managed to continue, the main problem after that was how much money it cost to keep going.

In order to cultivate the technique all the way to the stage of Undying Gold Skin, the expenditure involved was simply terrifying. Even an entire sect would have a hard time forking over so much. After all, those resources could be used on other, less wasteful techniques. Although those other techniques weren't as marvelous, a sect had to consider what was most cost-effective.

That was the main reason why the Undying Live Forever Technique had ended up gathering dust in the Scripture Pavilion.

After practicing cultivation for a bit, Naruto gathered up the chicken bones and buried them in the nearby spirit soil, along with the feathers.

Then he left his courtyard residence and found a place where the Outer Sect disciples tended to congregate, where he eavesdropped a bit to see if anyone was talking about the chicken being stolen. Based on his experience stealing chickens back in his village, he knew that the most optimal method was to only strike once every few days.

After eavesdropping a bit, he didn't hear anyone mention anything about a missing chicken. However, during his eavesdropping, he also learned that the three-colored tail feathers of the spirit tail chickens could be used to kindle three-colored flames.

Having learned this, Naruto immediately trotted back to his courtyard residence and dug up the three-colored tail feathers out of the spirit soil. Then he sat there, studying them thoughtfully.

"No wonder they raise so many spirit tail chickens here." He immediately stored the three-colored feathers in his bag of holding. To others, such feathers were nothing more than kindling for three-colored flames. To him, though, they were fuel to perform threefold spirit enhancements.

He didn't attempt to do so immediately, though. His plan was to get some spirit medicine first, then perform a spirit enhancement to make the medicine more powerful.

After resting for a few days, Naruto started getting hungry again one night. He put down the second volume of plants and vegetation and headed out into the darkness of night. When he returned, he had two more spirit tail chickens in his bag of holding.

And that was how time passed by. Soon, a month had gone by, during which time, news about the missing spirit tail chickens began to spread on Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Even Taruho heard about the matter. After all, in only a month of time, a few dozen chickens had gone missing from the three spirit tail chicken farms. However, Taruho didn't pay much attention to the matter, as he had important affairs to handle which ended up taking him off of the mountain.

Most depressed of all were the seven or eight Outer Sect disciples in charge of raising the spirit tail chickens. It wasn't that they cared a lot for the chickens themselves, but rather, that the chickens weren't really theirs to begin with. Although the peak lord didn't say anything, they felt the matter to be a big loss of face. After all, whoever was stealing the chickens was doing it right under their noses.

However, there was nothing they could do about it. No matter what they did to try to protect the chickens, the chickens kept going missing. What was most puzzling of all was that the chickens went missing without a trace. Not even a sound could be heard, as if they had vanished into thin air.

By now, Naruto's body was now completely back to normal, and in fact, he had even gained a bit of weight. However much the Undying Live Forever Technique sucked away from him, he would replenish it with chicken meat. His face had a healthy flush, and he was once again living a comfortable life.

He was in a wonderful mood, and his belly was full. As a result, his research into the second volume of plants and vegetation picked up speed. Eventually, the day arrived when he was finished studying. Based on what had happened last time, he had studied everything in even more minute detail, including the leaves, stems, roots, veins, and even the tiny hairs on the surface of the plants. He was now more confident than ever, and was sure that even if the plants were split into dozens of parts, he would still be able to identify them.

Chest puffed out proudly, he strode out of his courtyard residence.

"This time, I'm going to make sure everybody knows that I am the Lord Turtle who passed up Kurenai!" Filled with anticipation, he headed straight for the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

10,000 Medicines Pavilion was one of the most lively locations on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Virtually every day, crowds of Outer Sect disciples came and went. One reason was because of the ten stone steles, and the other reason was because of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion itself, which was located in the middle of all those stone steles. That was where you could exchange merit points for medicinal plants and pill formulas.

Every so often there were also tests for promotion to journeyman apothecary, or occasions when the medicinal pills concocted by various disciples were bought back by the sect. For a variety of reasons, the area was almost always a boiling cauldron of voices.

Because of the lively nature of the place, it had eventually become a place to talk about the latest news. Although it had started as an exchange of information about plants and vegetation, eventually, everything in the sect came to be talked about. Big things, small things, even random gossip was all passed among the various disciples.

When Naruto arrived, the place was packed. Some people were coming and going, but about thirty to fifty percent of the disciples were standing around talking. There were also disciples lined up to challenge the stone steles and earn a place on the name lists.

Naruto squeezed through the crowds for a while before finally nearing the second stone stele. Just when he was about to walk up to the stele itself, he happened to overhear three Outer Sect disciples up ahead talking about him.

"Did you guys hear? Something really weird has been going on in the sect recently. Someone has been specifically stealing Peak Lord Taruho's spirit tail chickens! Supposedly, over a hundred have already gone missing."

"What do you mean a hundred? I heard that it won't be long before Peak Lord Taruho doesn't have any chickens left at all. The disciples in charge of the Spirit Tail Chicken farm have put him on the most wanted list. They even said that when they catch him, they're going to chop him up and feed him to the chickens!"

"Definitely weird. Why are all these prodigies showing up in Fragrant Cloud Peak all of a sudden? First there was the mysterious turtle, and now this mighty chicken bandit!"

Naruto subconsciously hunched his shoulders guiltily. After all, he'd done nothing more than steal a few chickens, right? Who would have known that it would cause such a stir? From the look of it, almost everybody knew.

Furthermore, when he realized that the spirit tail chickens actually belonged to Taruho, he got even more scared.

"Gee, I didn't steal THAT many," he thought. He almost felt like he was being framed. Just as he was trying to think of a way to change public opinion about the matter of the mighty chicken bandit, he heard the sound of a commotion from behind him.

"Hey girly, what's with the shoving? Are you late to be reincarnated or something?!"

"So what if I'm shoving, huh? There's nothing special about you. If you're afraid of crowds, what'd you come here for anyway? You should feel lucky to get shoved by a girl like me."

"You..."

For some reason, the voice sounded familiar to Naruto. He turned to see a fair, delicate young woman standing there, chest puffed up, hand on her hip as she arrogantly stared down a burly-looking fellow.

"Amaru?" Naruto said, blinking.

The young woman was indeed Amaru, and when she heard his voice, she turned over and saw him, and the arrogance on her face quickly transformed into joy.

"Big Bro Naruto, it's you!" she exclaimed, turning and hurrying in his direction. Before she even arrived, Naruto felt her hot, pure aura brushing past his face.

"Hey, chaste little sister," he replied, looking over the vivacious and charming Amaru.

Amaru's face flushed a bit in response to Naruto's words.

"Oh, stop it, Big Bro Naruto!" she said sweetly. "You're such a tease, just call me Amaru!"

And just like that, the previously bristling young woman was suddenly beautiful and charming. Quite a few surrounding Outer Sect disciples' eyes began to gleam. As for the burly man she had just been arguing with, he suddenly had goosebumps as he realized what a moody and temperamental girl she was.

"Big Bro Xiaochun," she gushed, "my big brother left the mountain and hasn't come back, and this is my first time here. Where do I go to get the second volume of plants and vegetation?" This really was her first time here. Before, her older brother had helped her handle everything, and now that she was on her own, she didn't know what to do. Luckily, she ran right into Naruto.

Naruto smiled as he explained the process to her, going into minute detail. Amaru nodded occasionally. By the time he finished explaining, she not only felt that he was a good person, she also felt that he was also extremely knowledgeable.

After finishing, Naruto looked at Amaru to ensure that she had no further questions. Then he pointed over at the first stone stele, the one which tested the first volume of plants and vegetation, and calmly said, "See that stone stele? All the people who leave their mark at the top of the list are like Chosen in the sect. Any one of those people are the type who will shake the whole cultivation world in the future.

"I won't go into all the names, just the second one on the list. See that magic bottle insignia? That represents one of the female Chosen here on Fragrant Cloud Peak, Kurenai!"

"Kurenai!" exclaimed Amaru, her eyes shining as she looked over at the magic bottle insignia. "So, that magic bottle stands for the Peak Lord's apprentice, the one with the plants and vegetation spirit meridian, Elder Sister Kurenai, who's destined to join the Inner Sect!" From the way Amaru talked about Kurenai, it was obvious that she held her in immense esteem. Hearing Naruto's explanation about the magic bottle symbol seemed to get her even more excited.

Naruto continued to explain matters placidly for a bit longer, until he noticed that Amaru seemed to be completely fixated on the magic bottle, and wasn't paying attention at all to the turtle which had obviously surpassed it. He felt a bit irritated; after all, hadn't the whole point of his explanation been to get her to notice the turtle?

"Ahem, well, Kurenai is definitely amazing, that's why she was able to get to second place on the first stone stele of plants and vegetation!" He made sure to especially emphasize the words 'second place.'

Amaru gaped for a moment, then frowned.

"Second place? Who does that turtle above Elder Sister Kurenai represent? It looks so ugly."

Hearing this, Naruto felt much happier. In his mind, he really did need to educate Amaru a little bit more. Putting on a very solemn demeanor, he began to speak in a very earnest tone.

"You're wrong there, Xiaomei. Did you know that the cool-looking turtle actually represents the most mysterious, admirable and transcendent disciple in the entire sect?

"There are many legends about this person. Whenever he appears, he causes a huge uproar in the sect, and is the center of all attention. Countless disciples follow his every move, envy him and even cheer out loud for him."

"Really?" Amaru was a simple and pure girl, and the things Naruto was saying caused her to stare in skeptical shock.

"You should know that two months ago, this disciple made a big splash when he destroyed Kurenai's hopes of having the first place spot on all nine stone steles!

"You should know that in his debut appearance, he took the first place spot in the first stone stele. He did it as easily as flipping over his hand.

"You should know that Kurenai personally witnessed it happen. For the following seven days, she neither slept nor rested. She challenged the stone stele over and over again, but even after she did everything she could, she was still in second place, and was forced to concede defeat.

"You should know that I, Naruto... ahem" Naruto was getting very excited, and in the end, he wanted to reveal himself as the mighty Lord Turtle, but held back at the last moment. The ideal time to reveal his identity was in front of a big crowd. To do so in front of just a single young girl was too much of a waste.

"That's all true?" Amaru asked, eyes shining as brightly as glittering stars on a moonless night. She was now staring at the little turtle, her flushed face the picture of adoration.

"Of course it's true," Naruto replied, sighing inwardly. In his mind, he had just done a very good thing, which was helping straighten the course of a child who had strayed off onto the wrong path. Feeling quite a sense of accomplishment, he swished his sleeve and ignored Amaru's adoration as he headed toward the second stone stele.

He elbowed his way through the crowd, then waited for a bit until he was next in line. He had to wait a while for one of the log cabins to empty up, after which he strode into the door and disappeared.

The log cabin looked the same inside as the last one he had been in. After drawing a turtle, his vision swam, and rumbling sounds filled his ears. When he could see again, he was once again in that familiar empty space. No cold voice spoke out this time; instead, the fragmented plants and vegetation immediately appeared in front of him.

Since Naruto had been prepared for this, his eyes shone and his hands sped to work. In the blink of an eye, one spirit plant after another was pieced together.

Time passed. When the incense stick's worth of time was up, there were less than 5,000 plants left, which was significantly better than the record he had set when he had first been tested for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Unfortunately, time was up. Naruto's vision swam, and when he could see clearly, he was back in the log cabin. Despite having come up slightly short, he was still completely confident in the results. Quickly snatching up the third volume of plants and vegetation, he turned and walked out of the door of the log cabin, heart pounding in anticipation.

Outside, he could see countless Outer Sect disciples, many of whom were looking up at the name list. Naruto's currently felt very heroic.

"This time I'm going to shake the entire sect! I'm going to make sure that everyone knows Naruto is the famous Lord Turtle!" He could envision what it would be like to the object of adoration of tens of thousands of disciples, and could already see the look of shock on Amaru's face.

When he thought about that, Naruto couldn't hold back from laughing loudly. Then he lifted his hand grandly, and was just about to shout out at the top of his lungs that he was the mighty Lord Turtle, when...

All of a sudden, a voice rang out from among the Outer Sect disciples lined up for the trial by fire.

"Do you think the little turtle who stole Elder Sister Kurenai's limelight will dare to make an appearance?"

"I doubt it. Elder Sister Kurenai's fans are crazy. I heard that they've been searching the entire south bank for the little turtle. They even spread word that as soon as they find him, they'll skin him alive..."

"I heard that too. There are even some Inner Sect disciples who've joined in on the search."

Naruto's hand hung in the air as he listened to what the people were saying. Suddenly, his heart began to tremble. When he heard that there were Inner Sect disciples looking for him too, his forehead began to drip with sweat, and he quickly scratched his head, and then dropped his hand as if nothing at all had happened.

Enraged, he wormed his way through the crowd, an anxious, bereaved expression on his face.

"This is ridiculous. They're pushing things too far. All I did was take first place, right? And now the Inner Sect disciples are involved? Was it worth it?" This time, his expression was real, and not the least bit pretend.

Almost as soon as he worked his way into the crowd, someone noticed that the name list on the second stone stele had changed, and immediately, a huge uproar ensued.

"Look at the second stone stele! That little turtle... it's showed up again!"

"It's in first place again! Just who is this little turtle? Whoever it is has taken two first place spots in a row!"

"Now Elder Sister Kurenai doesn't have eight first place spots, she only has seven!"

The Outer Sect disciples were in a complete uproar, and countless cries of alarm could be heard ringing about. However, there was one voice in the crowd, a girl, who was crying out excitedly.

"Go, little turtle, go!" That young woman was none other than Amaru. Thanks to Naruto's earlier prodding, she was now a huge fan of the little turtle. Now that she suddenly saw the little turtle take two first place spots, her sense of adoration increased rapidly. In fact, the little turtle had now surpassed Kurenai's place in her heart.

The sound of commotion rolled in waves, until everyone was shouting out. After all, the little turtle really was very famous, and now it had once again proven by its actions that whoever it represented was qualified to challenge Kurenai.

In fact, there were even some people who were starting to anticipate the scene of the little turtle surpassing Kurenai in all ten stone steles.

Naruto was there in the crowd, still a bit depressed, but also secretly felt pleased with himself. He was only a bit regretful that nobody knew who he was.

"Hmph. One of these days, I'm going to reveal that I'm Lord Turtle in front of an even bigger crowd!" he promised himself.

Despite his oath, he wasn't ready to give up just yet. He next began to participate in all the shouting. Occasionally, a piercing voice would ring out, drawing the crowd into further commotion.

"Heavens! Who could it be!? I love this guy!"

"The idol of the masses! Lord Turtle is invincible!"

Thanks to Naruto's piercing cries, the Outer Sect disciples' discussions grew even more feverish. However, it was in that instant that a cold snort rang out, and a figure leapt out of the crowd to stand atop one of the log cabins.

It was a young man with a cold, grim expression on his face. His icy voice rang out across the crowd as he said, "I better not find out who that damned little turtle is. If I do, he'll regret ever having stolen the limelight from Junior Sister Kurenai!"

"Same here! The little turtle is probably hiding in the crowd right now. I'm gonna find him!" The second voice belonged to that of another young man, who also flew up to the roof of the log cabin and looked around coldly at the crowd. Apparently he had his eye on Naruto, not because he thought that he was the little turtle, but because Naruto's shouting earlier had been quite blatant, and irritated the young man.

Soon, more people began to say similar things, seven or eight of them. Furthermore, when they unleashed the incredible power of their cultivation bases, it was obvious that the strongest among their number was in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation.

These people were obviously fans of Kurenai, and famous ones at that. Their appearance on the scene caused the crowd to immediately quiet down and stop discussing the matter. However, inwardly, most people were irritated at what was happening, and loathed the young men more than ever.

Although everyone liked Kurenai, she was only a single person. The disciples present weren't stupid, and actually admired someone who could challenge Kurenai based on individual merit.

When Naruto found himself the subject of the young man's glare, he didn't feel very confident. However, after considering that there were so many bystanders who the young man didn't dare to offend, Naruto glared back with a look that said, "If you dare to do something to me, I'll fight back to the death."

At this point in the standoff, a beam of light shot through the air in the direction of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, within which a graceful figure could be seen. It was none other than Kurenai.

"It's Elder Sister Kurenai."

"Elder Sister Kurenai is coming." The standoff ended. As soon as the Outer Sect disciples caught sight of Kurenai, smiles broke out on their faces.

The seven or eight young men who were her fans quickly retracted their cultivation bases. Looking completely confident and at ease, they clasped hands to Kurenai.

Kurenai had come because first, she had already heard about the change to the ranking list on the second stone stele, and second, she had another matter to attend to. After glancing around, she easily guessed what had caused the standoff. She looked over at the eight fans, her eyes flickering with displeasure and even disgust.

"The affairs of Kurenai have not reached the level where others need to interfere," she said coldly. "Besides, if a new Chosen disciple has appeared on Fragrant Cloud Peak, that's something fortunate for the sect as a whole. If you people let something like this happen again, then don't blame your Junior Sister for losing her temper." Her voice cut with the sharpness of a sword, and the eight fans looked angry. However, they didn't dare to say a word.

Kurenai looked up at the little turtle on the second stone stele, and her heart filled with an unyielding spirit. She looked out over the crowd and said in a cool, arrogant voice, "Whichever Junior Brother it was who happened to surpass me on the stones steles for the first and second volumes of plants and vegetation, if you're still scuttling around in the crowd and don't feel like showing your true face, then so be it. Do as you wish."

The surrounding Outer Sect disciple cheered in response. For most of them, Kurenai was the true Chosen of Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Naruto stood there in the crowd, musing that Zhou Xingqi definitely deserved to be Chosen. Her words just now had been marvelously spoken. He looked up for a moment in thought. He could clearly hear the haughtiness in her words, and what caused him to sigh the most was not that he didn't want to reveal himself. No, it was the killing intent flickering in the eyes of her adoring fans.

Kurenai's expression was calm as she coolly addressed the crowd as a whole. "Ladies and gentlemen, I came here for another reason today, and I hope I can have the support of each and every one of you."

Her words instantly got everyone excited, and everyone waited respectfully to see what she had to say next.

"The tranquility of Fragrant Cloud Peak has been disturbed of late. My Master, Taruho, has had quite a few spirit tail chickens go missing. He is currently out of the sect, and most likely doesn't care too much about the matter. However, as his apprentice, I have a responsibility to do something about it. I sincerely hope that all my fellow disciples will work hard to catch this chicken thief. If anyone manages to apprehend him, I will personally reward that person with a treasured jade pendant!" Even as she spoke, Kurenai pulled out a green jade pendant from inside her robe. It let off a gentle glow that made it obvious it was an extraordinary item.

"This is an item I came across some years ago that contains potent defensive power." As her voice echoed out, the numerous Outer Sect disciples looked at the jade pendant, and excited expressions could be seen on many of their faces. Some even began to call out various promises.

"Don't worry, Elder Sister Kurenai. That chicken thief won't have a place to hide!

"How dare he steal the peak lord's chickens! This chicken thief is daring to the extreme. We'll definitely be paying close attention to the matter!" Soon, almost everyone in the crowd had cried out assurances that they would help, especially Kurenai's fans, whose eyes burned passionately as they cried out louder than everyone else.

Naruto stood in the middle of the crowd, somewhat stunned. The surrounding disciples were getting worked up into a frenzy, and he felt like a cold wind was blowing down his spine.

However, he still wasn't willing to give up. Even just thinking about the hunger caused from cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique caused sweat to bead up on his forehead. His mind raced as he tried to come up with ideas, and a moment later, his eyes lit up. Suddenly, he slapped his chest and projected his voice through the crowd.

"Elder Sister Kurenai, I, Naruto, will definitely accomplish this mission, even if I have to climb a mountain of blades or swim to the bottom of a vat of boiling oil. I will catch this chicken thief!" His piercing voice couldn't be missed, and as he spoke, he shouldered his way forward to stand at the front of the crowd.

The way he made his entrance caused numerous eyes to fall upon him, as did the way he loudly slapped his own chest. Even Kurenai's fans felt a bit overwhelmed, and Kurenai herself couldn't help but look over at him.

Seeing how much her fellow disciples supported her caused a smile to break out on Kurenai's face. She nodded slightly, and was just turning to leave when all of a sudden, Naruto's piercing voice once again weighed down onto the crowd.

"Elder Sister Kurenai, I have a suggestion. Why don't we form a chicken thief task force? If we work together, it will make it much easier to catch this vile traitor, and protect the peak lord's spirit tail chickens!" From the righteous tone of Naruto's voice, it seemed that he was willing to spare no effort to accomplish the mission set forth by Elder Sister Kurenai.

Kurenai stared in shock. As for the rest of the crowd, quite a few of them thought it was a good idea and began to voice their approval.

"Good idea," someone said. "However, cultivation is still our main priority, so the matter must be voluntary." Kurenai looked over at Naruto once more. In her opinion, this Junior Brother of hers was not only fair and pure, he seemed inherently charming. Furthermore, he appeared to be piously devoted to her, which left her with a very favorable impression. Nodding, she gave him a smile.

"Since the idea was put forth by this zealous Junior Brother, I suggest that he form the chicken thief task force. Take these ten silk bands to use as tokens of identification for the task force members." With that, she produced ten bands of blue silk from within her bag of holding. With the wave of a hand, she sent them flying toward Naruto, where they landed in his hand.

"Don't worry, Elder Sister, I'll handle everything!" He stood there with silk bands in hand, looking prouder than ever. In fact, he looked like he would yield to no one when it came to the Peak Lord's chickens, and would even be willing to sacrifice his life for the cause.

Kurenai's eyes glowed with admiration, and she couldn't help but muse that there were very few responsible Junior Brothers like this in the sect. Taking one last look at Naruto's charming appearance, she turned and left.

Kurenai's fans were not happy to suddenly see her and Naruto on good terms. Furthermore, they also regretted not winning her favor in such a fawning way themselves.

After Kurenai left, the disciples from the spirit fowl farm also left, thanking the crowd profusely in the process. They especially expressed thanks to Naruto, who stood there, chest puffed up as he cursed the chicken thief. Then, he organized the chicken thief task force, filling it with other disciples whose cultivation bases did not exceed his.

Finally, Naruto hurried away, wiping the sweat from his brow. Sighing, he thought,

"That was a close one. I almost lost access to my food source. It's a good thing you're so clever and quick-witted, Naruto. Heh heh." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto felt very pleased with himself. Humming a little tune, he headed once again in the direction of his courtyard residence. Back in the courtyard, the spiritwinter bamboo in the spirit field was growing frighteningly high. It was now three meters high, thicker than his calf, and shocking in appearance.

That night, when dark clouds filled the sky and everything was pitch black, Naruto sat there with his eyes wide open, licking his lips.

"The night is dark, and I'm feeling hungry yet again..."

It was late at night, and Fragrant Cloud Peak was blanketed in darkness. If you held your hand out in front of you, you wouldn't even be able to see your fingers. Other than the whispering wind, everything was peaceful and quiet. Not even a peep could be heard coming from the birds and beasts.

Naruto hurried through the darkness, Kurenai's silk band tied around his arm, following the path that led to one of the spirit tail chicken farms. As he sped along, he would occasionally duck into a nearby thicket and proceed along in concealment.

Soon, the spirit tail chicken farm came into view up ahead. Most of the chickens were asleep, although a few were walking about to and fro. There was even one chicken in particular which was strolling in Naruto's direction.

He crouched there in the thicket, licking his lips until the spirit tail chicken neared the fence. Just as he was pulling out his bamboo cicada, his heart flip-flopped, and a look of vigilance filled his eyes.

At the same time, shouting could be heard from behind him as numerous figures charged toward him through the night. They even had flame globes which cast radiant light out into the night.

"Damned chicken thief! Finally you show your face!"

"We've been waiting for you here for days! Now we've got you surrounded, let's see how you try to escape!" As the cries echoed out, eight figures closed in on Naruto, completely surrounding him.

These were the disciples in charge of taking care of the chickens. Even after days of painstakingly laying in wait, they had never imagined that today would be the day when everything paid off. Their hearts were filled with righteous ardor as they prepared to immediately execute justice upon the chicken thief.

When their words rang out, Naruto was initially very nervous. But then he looked up in thought for a moment and let out a cold snort.

"Shut up, you people!" he said. "Keep it down!" His words were spoken without the slightest politeness, as if justice were on his side. He did nothing to attempt to flee, but instead, arrogantly rose to his feet, making sure that the silk band on his arm was clearly visible.

"See that?!" he asked. "I'm the captain of the chicken thief task force." Brow furrowed, he looked around at the eight disciples, clearly displeased.

This sudden development caused the eight interlopers to stare in shock. Some of these disciples had seen Naruto earlier in the day. After examining him a bit closer, they started to hesitate.

One of the disciples seemed a bit skeptical about the situation. "Oh, it's Junior Brother Naruto. Well... what are you doing here so late at night, huh?"

His words caused the other disciples to stare suspiciously at Naruto.

Flicking his sleeve and frowning, Naruto angrily said, "Elder Sister Kurenai herself asked me to be the captain of the chicken thief task force, so of course I'll do everything in my power to catch the chicken thief. I've even given up my nightly cultivation routine to come here and lay in wait. However, considering how much of a racket you people are making, I'm sure the chicken thief has long since fled." He really did look like the picture of someone trying to catch a thief.

The chicken farm disciples exchanged dismayed glances, and some of them even looked a bit embarrassed. As for the most suspicious of the disciples, his expression softened a bit, although he still didn't seem totally convinced.

Seeing that their suspicions hadn't been completely dispelled, Naruto gave a cold harrumph and, before anyone could ask any more questions, he decided to seize the initiative and put the onus on them.

"No wonder you people have lost so many spirit tail chickens! You're completely negligent. Look over there, your fence is even broken!" He pointed over to a spot where there really was a hole in the fence, although it wasn't very obvious. It had actually been punched into the fence by a struggling spirit tail chicken that he had been in the process of stealing a while back.

The chicken farm disciples looked in the direction that Naruto was pointing, and when they saw the hole, expressions of shock appeared on their faces. It was true that they really hadn't paid much attention to tiny details like this in the past.

"And look at that spirit tail chicken. How did you plan to protect it after it walked all the way over here!?" Naruto seemed to be getting more and more angry, and was even raising his voice, causing the chicken farm disciples' faces to flush with shame.

"According to my investigation, this spot right here is the most remote location on the chicken farm. You should be guarding this place especially closely. But look, I was here for ages before any of you people showed up." The more Naruto talked, the angrier he got. In the end, he let out a long sigh.

"How do you people expect to catch a thief like this, huh? Based on my experience catching thieves, if my speculations are correct, then this is the location in which the most chickens were taken." As soon as the words left his mouth, the chicken farm disciples began to tremble inwardly. Exchanging glances, they saw the shock in each others' eyes. Based on the information they had, this was indeed the location where they had lost the most chickens.

In fact, that was the reason why they had decided to stand guard here. Naruto had hit the nail square on the head, causing the entire group to look at him with increasing admiration.

Even the disciple who had been the most suspicious of him now felt that he had been in the wrong. First he thought about how Naruto had sacrificed his cultivation time to come catch the thief, and then he remembered how enthusiastic and duty-bound he had seemed earlier in the day. Finally, the disciple took a deep breath, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Junior Brother Naruto, please don't be too deeply offended at what I said earlier. Many thanks for your sacrifice. We will repair this spot immediately, and will definitely increase the guard in this area!"

Everyone else clasped hands as well, thinking about how rare it was to find someone as zealous as Naruto. He was obviously trying to help them, and that made them even more sorry for their impulsiveness earlier.

Naruto sighed, then earnestly offered them a few more pieces of advice before turning to leave. As he walked off, the eight disciples once again clasped hands and bowed, completely moved by what he had just done.

"Junior Brother Naruto is such a good guy."

As soon as Naruto was out of sight, a cold wind brushed against his back, and he realized that he was sweating profusely from how close of a call it had been. However, his stomach was still grumbling, so he decided to go to the other two chicken farms to see if there was still a chance to make a move.

He strolled down the mountain path, looking around cautiously as he went along to make sure he wasn't being followed. His expression was grave as he pondered how to go about stealing a chicken from the next chicken farm. As the wind blew, it fluttered the silk band tied around his arm.

Meanwhile, up in dark night air, a woman stood on a blue flying silk, completely undetectable to everyone down below as she examined the situation on this part of Fragrant Cloud Peak. Suddenly, her expression flickered as she caught sight of Naruto walking along, looking around vigilantly. Her eyes gradually began to glow with praise.

"This little Junior Brother really takes his responsibilities seriously." Naturally, that woman was Kurenai, who had been inspecting the area. Earlier, there had been lots of disciples on patrol, but as the night wore on, most of them had gone back to practice cultivation. Naruto was the only one out and about actually trying to catch the thief.

"With him around, the chicken thief will definitely have to rein things in." Kurenai looked away and then headed back to her Immortal's cave, feeling much better about the situation.

Two hours later, Naruto had circled back around to his courtyard residence. Once inside, he slapped his bag of holding to produce two spirit tail chickens. Chuckling to himself, he plucked them and tossed them into the wok, soon after which, a fragrant aroma filled the air, causing him to salivate. Then, he didn't even wait for them to cool before wolfing them down ravenously.

Finally, he burped, patted his belly, and then laid back, looking so content he almost seemed drunk.

Another month passed, during which time Naruto conscientiously went out at night, looking very solemn as he appeared randomly to inspect the various chicken farms.

Despite that, the chickens still continued to go missing. They seemingly disappeared without a trace, which was a deep mystery. The chicken farm disciples were increasingly feeling as if they had lost all face. Filled with passion, they continuously swore oaths to not give up until the chicken thief was incarcerated.

Naruto seemed to be taking things even more seriously than them. He was completely devoted to defending the chicken farms, as if he wasn't even willing to rest until the thief was apprehended. There was even one occasion in which he stood guard at one chicken farm for four days and four nights.

The hard work being put in seemed to put a lot of pressure on the chicken thief, and the rate of thievery seemed to have been reduced. However, the thief didn't disappear altogether. Eventually, nearly half of the spirit tail chickens on Fragrant Cloud Peak were now gone, and the ones left behind were mostly juveniles.

In the end, even the chicken farm disciples began berating themselves, and couldn't help but sigh emotionally. They were of the opinion that if the rest of the chicken thief task force was as conscientious as Junior Brother Naruto, then the chicken thief would definitely have been caught already.

Kurenai was getting particularly anxious. One afternoon when Naruto was sitting cross-legged at one of the chicken farms, looking around vigilantly, a blue flying silk descended from above, upon which was Kurenai.

After seeing who it was, Naruto charmingly called out, "Elder Sister Zhou."

When Kurenai's beautiful eyes fell upon Naruto, she smiled and said, "Hard at work, I see, Junior Brother Naruto."

Soon, other disciples in the area were rushing up, clustering around Kurenai and also Naruto.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I offer my profound thanks for your assistance recently," she said softly. "I am truly grateful. However, the chicken thief is still as brazen as ever. Therefore, I will join you to stand guard." After looking around at the group, she frowned slightly and continued, "I'm wondering if perhaps the chicken thief has a connection to my Master. Otherwise, wouldn't he steal spirit tail chicken from the other mountain peaks too? Instead, he seems to be targeting only my Master's chickens!"

When Naruto heard that, his eyes began to shine brightly, and he very nearly slapped his thigh. What Kurenai said made a lot of sense, and as he thought about it, he couldn't help but look off in the direction of Violet Cauldron Peak. Slowly, his eyes narrowed to cover over the wily glint deep therein.

Now that Kurenai had shown herself, many of her admirers also began to flock to the area. Soon, vast crowds had gathered at Fragrant Cloud Peak's spirit tail chicken farms.

The chicken thief was now incapable of doing anything, and in the following days, not a single spirit tail chicken was lost.

Even still, the mysterious and unfathomable chicken thief was already completely famous. In fact, many people had taken to calling him the Chicken-Thieving Fiend. He had caused such a stir among the disciples that he was considered to stand alongside the owner of the little turtle as one of the most mysterious figures on Fragrant Cloud Peak. In fact, even the Outer Sect disciples on Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak had heard about him.

Now that the chicken thief had apparently vanished, Kurenai felt a lot better. Although he had never been apprehended, when she thought about how hard Naruto had worked over the past month or more, she ended up rewarding him with the jade pendant anyway, as a form of encouragement.

When the matter finally came to an end, Naruto's earnestness and devotion had caused quite a few fellow Outer Sect disciples to notice how pure, charming, and dedicated he was.

Naruto sat in his courtyard on Fragrant Cloud Peak, looking at the jade pendant sitting there in his hand. After activating it with some spiritual energy, the pendant began to glow with a soft, green light that surrounded his body.

Next, he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, causing his wooden sword to appear. It circled around in the air and then shot back toward Naruto. However, as soon as it hit the green light, it was as if it had suddenly run into a patch of water, causing it to slow down significantly.

"What a treasure!" he murmured, putting the wooden sword away and clasping the jade pendant in his hand, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Ah well, it doesn't matter. Taruho is Kurenai's Master, but he's my mentor too. In fact, considering our relationship, I should probably call him uncle." Clearing his throat, Naruto put the jade pendant away, then stood up and stretched lazily.

After eating more than half of Taruho's chickens, his Undying Live Forever Technique was progressing by leaps and bounds. It was now more than seventy percent complete. Of course, the spirit tail chickens replenished his vital energy, not his spiritual energy. However, even though his cultivation base was still at the fourth level of Chakra Condensation, it had made some progress, and was more refined than before.

He buried all the chicken bones in the spirit soil, which was now filled with so much spiritual energy that it bordered on ridiculous. As for his spiritwinter bamboo, it was now more than two meters tall, and no longer purely emerald green; dark dots had begun to appear within the green.

Most important of all were the spirit tails, which could produce three-colored flames. Naruto had been collecting them, and now had several hundred. Whenever he thought about the three-colored flames that the spirit tails could produce, his heart filled with anticipation.

"I'm in no hurry with my cultivation base. As long as I can get enough medicinal pills, I can do a threefold spirit enhancement on them and advance with flying speed. The most important thing to do is make some progress with my Undying Skin!" Almost as soon as the thought entered his mind, Naruto's stomach started to grumble. At first he looked in the direction of Fragrant Cloud Peak's chicken farms, but then he turned toward Violet Cauldron Peak.

"Eldest Brother is on Violet Cauldron Peak, I wonder how he's been doing lately." Thinking about all the things that had happened back in the Ovens, he raced out of his courtyard, down the mountain, and toward Violet Cauldron Peak.

Of the three mountains on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, Green Crest Peak focused on swords, Fragrant Cloud Peak concentrated on spirit medicine, and Violet Cauldron Peak excelled in magical techniques and spirit enhancement. Furthermore, the south bank's most fundamental technique, the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, actually came from Violet Cauldron Peak.

Naruto walked along the path toward Violet Cauldron Peak, and by the time he got there, evening was falling. He looked up at the mountain, which was wreathed in clouds and mist. High up in the air, he was just barely able to make out tiny shadows flitting around in beams of prismatic light. He sighed.

"I wonder when I'll be able to get some kind of flying treasure, and then do something like that. Then my world will really open up, and I'll actually be on the path to living forever." Eyes gleaming with anticipation, he began to ascend Violet Cauldron Peak.

Although he wasn't a disciple of Violet Cauldron Peak, as an Outer Sect disciple, he was qualified to go to any of the various mountains. As he walked along, he asked some people about where Choji lived. Thanks to his charming manner, he almost immediately got an answer, and quickly hurried off in the direction indicated.

Big Fatty Choji's residence was located on a different part of the mountain compared to the location of Naruto's place on Fragrant Cloud Peak. It was on the sunny side of the mountain, where there was stronger spiritual energy. There weren't many residences here; they were sprinkled about like stars in the night sky, apparently in some prescribed pattern.

Although it was evening, and the light wasn't very clear, it was still possible to see the swirling mists and abundant spirit plants, all of which gave the place a celestial feeling.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked around enviously. "Eldest Brother really does have connections in the sect. I can't believe he got a place like this. It's way better than mine."

It only took a bit of looking to find Big Fatty Choji's residence. The courtyard was filled with weeds, as if no one had tended to it for ages. Naruto gaped in shock, then knocked on the main gate. However, there was no response.

"Am I in the wrong place?" he thought. Even as he stood there, shocked, the front door of the building inside the courtyard slowly creaked open, and an emaciated figure appeared, holding a flying sword in his right hand. Dim silver light flickered around his left hand as he trudged out. Looking exhausted, then languidly said, "Who is it?!"

Even as the words left the man's mouth, he suddenly saw Naruto standing there across the courtyard, and a tremor ran through him. A look of delight appeared on his face, almost as if he had just caught sight of a blood relative. Suddenly, he flew forward, pushed the main gate open, and then stood there looking at Naruto. Then he laughed loudly and said, "Ninth Junior Brother!"

"Who are you?!" Naruto responded, backing up, his eyes wide. Although this person seemed familiar for some reason, Naruto couldn't identify him at all.

He had average features, and was very skinny. Although he couldn't be described as being only skin and bones, he was almost to that point. His eyes shone with vigor, and yet were sunken in. From the ripples of his cultivation base, he seemed to be in the great circle of the fourth level of Chakra Condensation.

When the emaciated young man saw Naruto's expression, he looked like he was about to start crying.

"Ninth Fatty, it's me, Big Fatty!" he said. Face filled with intense grief, he went on to say, "Ninth Fatty, you have no idea how much I've suffered during the past year. My master is so demanding! As soon as I got here, she told me she doesn't like fatties, and that I had to go hungry for half a year!

"Half a year, Ninth Fatty! Do you know what I ended up looking like after half a year? It took me forever just to gain this much weight back." This emaciated young man was none other than Big Fatty Choji, who was now standing there weeping.

Naruto looked him over carefully. Having heard the story, and confirmed that he really was his Eldest Brother, Naruto's jaw dropped. The Eldest Brother he remembered, and this person standing in front of him, looked like two completely different people.

"Is there some grudge between you and your Master?" Naruto asked sympathetically.

"That old shrew! I..." Big Fatty Choji said a few words, but then shivered and didn't dare to continue. Pulling Naruto into his courtyard, he said, "Ninth Junior Brother, I miss the Ovens! Nobody can survive in a place like this. I've never been full the entire time I've been here, plus there's no way for me to make any money. Ah, I'm so hungry!" He then proceeded to tell Naruto everything that had happened to him from the moment he had arrived.

As Naruto listened to the bitter tale, he suddenly realized that his decision to start stealing chickens was definitely the right thing to do. He looked at Big Fatty Choji's emaciated frame, then sighed and patted his bony shoulder.

"Since you're in some trouble, Elder Brother, then Junior Brother will naturally help. Just wait here for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. I'll be right back." Big Fatty Choji gaped in shock as Naruto turned and left the courtyard.

On his way up the mountain, Naruto had already taken note of where Violet Cauldron Peak's spirit tail chicken farms were located. Taking advantage of the darkness of night, he suddenly vanished.

Big Fatty Choji had no idea what was going on, nor any clue as to what Naruto might be doing. He waited there at his front gate for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, after which Naruto returned, carrying a spirit tail chicken in each hand.

When Big Fatty Choji saw the spirit tail chickens, his eyes went wide. Before he could say anything, though, Naruto hustled him into the courtyard. Ignoring Big Fatty Choji, Naruto expertly produced a wok, boiled some water, plucked the chickens and tossed them in. With that, he dusted off his sleeves, lifted his chin and looked at Big Fatty Choji.

Big Fatty Choji was panting, and his eyes were wide. He pointed at the chickens in the wok, and then back at Naruto, and a look of disbelief crept up on his face.

"Y-you... don't tell me that you are the Chicken-Thieving Fiend of Fragrant Cloud Peak!?"

Naruto chuckled. Then, as if he were very familiar with the process, placed his hand onto the wok and sent out some spiritual energy to ensure that the chicken meat was perfectly tender. Soon, a fragrant aroma wafted out. Naruto reached in, pulled out a chicken leg, and then handed it to Big Fatty Choji.

"Eat!" he said, imitating the way Big Fatty Choji had handed him the magical mushroom back when he had first joined the Ovens.

Big Fatty Choji swallowed a few times as he stared at the chicken leg. Finally, he grabbed it and wolfed it down. From that point on, it wasn't necessary for Naruto to say anything. Big Fatty Choji flew over to the wok and virtually dunked his face in. The two chickens were rapidly consumed down to the bones, except that he couldn't stop there; crunching sounds could be heard as he chomped them down too.

Finally, he smacked his belly, and laid back, looking nearly drunk with contentment. Then he and Naruto exchanged a look and started laughing.

"Ninth Fatty, you're incredible," he said, looking very proud. "You really were paying attention back in the Ovens. I never would have imagined that Fragrant Cloud Peak's illustrious Chicken-Thieving Fiend would turn out to be my bro."

"Cultivation is innately a heaven-defying thing. As cultivators, it's only natural to contend with the heavens, and fight with men. You have to rely on yourself! What do a few spirit tail chickens count for?" Naruto waved his hand, but was unable to conceal how pleased he was with himself. He had been keeping his identity a secret for far too long now; being able to share it, and then see the look on Big Fatty Choji's face, made him feel wonderful.

"The true pity is that I've eaten so many spirit tail chickens on Fragrant Cloud Peak that only the chicks are left. They don't taste very good, otherwise I'd invite you to live with me over there, and we could eat our fill every day. You would definitely gain all your weight back." Naruto sighed.

When Big Fatty Choji heard that, his eyes gleamed, and he immediately crawled to his feet.

"Violet Cauldron Peak has them too. The west, south, and north faces of the mountains all do. They're guarded by two shifts a day, each shift manned by seven disciples!" Big Fatty Choji went on to explain in further detail. When he was finished, he found Naruto looking at him with a strange expression. Big Fatty Choji cleared his throat and said, "After I heard about the Chicken-Thieving Fiend, I decided to try to do the same thing as him. Unfortunately, the chickens are too hard to steal. As soon as you get close, they start making noise. Not only did I not even come close to stealing a chicken, I almost got caught." Big Fatty Choji seemed a bit embarrassed about the whole thing.

Naruto laughed, then edged closer to Big Fatty Choji and began to whisper something. Gradually, Big Fatty Choji's eyes began to glow brighter and brighter, and he was even panting. Then Naruto pulled out his bamboo cicada, and after a moment wide smiles covered their faces and they began to chuckle.

Soon, laughter rang out from within the courtyard, and it sounded terrifying.

From that day on, Naruto began to visit Big Fatty Choji more often, and gradually, the spirit tail chickens from Violet Cauldron Peak began to go missing...

Every night, two great chicken bandits struck. One did the stealing, the other stood watch. Soon, the disciples of Violet Cauldron Peak were in an uproar, and everyone was discussing the matter.

"Did you hear? The Chicken-Thieving Fiend from Fragrant Cloud Peak has set his eyes on Violet Cauldron Peak!"

"I actually saw it happen! The Chicken-Thieving Fiend isn't a person, it's a team of two!"

When the news got back to Fragrant Cloud Peak, the Outer Sect disciples there all took deep breaths and looked sympathetically in the direction of Violet Cauldron Peak.

"So the Chicken-Thieving Fiend has learned to be balanced. He's finally not stealing chickens from our Fragrant Cloud Peak..."

It got to the point that, a month later, the rumors were flying like crazy. Even the Yugao, the peak lord of Violet Cauldron Peak, who was none other than the old shrew Big Fatty Choji had mentioned, caught wind of what was happening. Naruto and Big Fatty Choji had no choice but to cease their activities. After discussing the matter together, they decided to go rescue Third Girly Kuro.

Therefore, the two of them went to Green Crest Peak.

Third Girly Kuro was a bit thinner, but not conspicuously. However, she now emanated a somewhat seductive air, which left Naruto and Big Fatty Choji virtually speechless. They barely even recognized her. Her previously swarthy face even looked somewhat elegant. One could easily imagine how, if she continued to lose weight, she would eventually turn into a true beauty.

However, once she heard about the spirit tail chickens, her eyes began to shine.

From then on, the spirit tail chickens on Green Crest Peak began to go missing...

By now, the Chicken-Thieving Fiend was completely famous on the south bank. It was virtually impossible to find an Outer Sect disciple who hadn't heard of him, and even the servants knew the name.

Before long, the Elders took note of the matter. Although the Chicken-Thieving Fiend eventually vanished without a trace, never to reappear again, Third Girly Kuro and Big Fatty Choji both visibly regained a lot of weight. Although they weren't as impressive as they had been in the past, they were still much sturdier.

As for Naruto, he finally... finished eighty-one cycles, at long last sating his hunger. It was at that point that the three of them gave up on stealing chickens.

Although the eighty-one cycles of the Undying Live Forever Technique hadn't been performed in succession, but rather built up over time, the result was absolutely the same.

On one particular day, Naruto sat in his courtyard in Fragrant Cloud Peak, his expression solemn. His skin was emanating iron-colored pulses, and even glowed with a flickering black light. An incredible aura radiated off of him, making him seem savage and wild.

He had endured eighty-one days of pain and then eighty-one days of hunger. That combination transformed into a shocking power that erupted up inside of Naruto, over and over again.

Each eruption was filled with boundless vital energy, which then poured into Naruto's skin, causing it to become increasingly iron-colored. The black glow grew more blinding, and the toughness of his skin increased exponentially.

Eventually, it reached the point that if anyone had happened to catch sight of him standing there, they would think they were looking at an iron statue, and not a flesh and blood human.

His mind was reeling as the bursts of energy continued. After the 19th time, he realized that they weren't slowing down at all, but were actually increasing in intensity.

Naruto didn't move a muscle, and didn't even seem to be breathing. However, if you looked closely, you would see that all of the pores on his body were dilated as he silently absorbed the energy of heaven and earth in the area.

"After eighty-one eruptions, my Undying Skin will reach the initial stage of completion, and I'll be in the Iron Skin stage!" The Undying Live Forever Technique's mnemonic floated in Naruto's mind, and a firm and unswerving expression could be seen on his face. All of his hard work over the past year, including enduring all the pain and hunger... had all been for this moment!

RUMBLE!

The vital energy inside of him erupted out once more, and the iron color of his skin deepened. Every time the vital energy poured into the flesh of his skin, it was as if it were being tempered by the strikes of thousands of forge hammers.

As of this moment, he pulsed with energy, like a divine weapon in the forging process!

RUUUUMMMMBLLE!

28 times. 30 times. 40 times. 48 times...

Time passed. Three days later, Naruto remained in the exact same spot. Although no bystander would be able to hear anything, to him, it sounded like endless thunder was booming in his ears.

However, it was at this point that the vital energy inside of him erupted out for the 49th time. Suddenly, the power redoubled, and a tremor ran through him. At the same time, tiny cracks began to appear on his skin, as if it couldn't endure any longer.

Although the cracks were few, as soon as they appeared, Naruto's heart sank.

"So, the signs of impending death have finally appeared..." Naruto frowned. The introduction to the Undying Live Forever Technique mentioned cracks like this. During the process of reaching the initial stage of success, they were guaranteed to show up. How long each individual could hold on would depend on their willpower, and would end up determining the quality of the future Undying Skin.

Even if you didn't endure for very long at all, you could still successfully cultivate the Undying Skin. However, the quality would naturally fall short of perfect.

If you could hold on through all 81 eruptions of vital energy, then you could reach a state of perfect flawlessness.

Naruto's eyes gleamed with determination for a moment before he closed them once more. Rumbling explosions continued to erupt inside of him. 50 times. 60 times. 70 times... Unexpectedly, one breath took him through five whole days, during which he endured all the way past 70.

The cracks covering him were so numerous that his skin almost looked like a turtle's. In many places, the cracks had joined together, making him resemble a broken flower vase that had been pieced back together.

He looked like he might shatter at any moment.

"Only seven more times!" he thought, his eyes completely bloodshot. Panting, he clenched his jaw, and that vicious streak in his personality surged to life.

74 times!

77 times!

79 times!

Naruto threw his head back and roared, although it wasn't very loud of a roar, more like a muffled grunt. His body trembled as he endured yet another eruption, reaching a total of 80.

The vital energy poured into his skin which, although it was covered with cracks, was like iron; anyone who saw it would surely be shocked.

"Last one!" he said. As the final burst of vital energy surged out, he suddenly extended his right hand and smashed it down toward the ground.

A boom rang out, and a huge crater appeared. The final blast of vital energy erupted as everything reached a conclusion. Endless amounts of vital energy poured into his skin, causing the cracks to immediately vanish, leaving him looking sleek and smooth. The black glow vanished, and he looked just as fair and pure as before. However, now his skin was far tougher than ordinary skin, although nobody could tell that by looking at him.

Naruto stood there panting for a moment before looking up at the crater he had just blasted into the ground. Then he looked at his skin, and his expression brightened. Finally, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

He waved his right hand, causing his wooden sword to fly out, which then transformed into a black beam that slashed at his forearm. As soon as it hit, a metallic clang rang out, and the wooden sword unexpectedly flew backward. As for his arm, it felt almost like a mosquito had bitten him. When he examined the point of impact, his skin wasn't harmed at all.

"Undying Skin!" he cried, unable to contain his joy. It must be stated that his wooden sword was no ordinary magical item; it had received a twofold spirit enhancement. Although it was made from ordinary materials, because of the spirit enhancement, it could be considered a magical item worthy of a Chosen. Despite that, though, it hadn't hurt him at all.

Naruto suddenly flickered into motion, shooting forward. A buzzing sound could be heard as he suddenly appeared more than thirty meters away. He could now move many times faster than before, leaving him completely delighted.

As for the power he could unleash, a mere look at the crater in the ground revealed that it was also many times greater than before. Furthermore, this was only the initial stage of success of the Undying Skin. Although it couldn't be said that he had completely cast off his mortal body, he was definitely vastly different than before.

"With defensive power like this," he thought, "I, Naruto, am going to be much safer on the path to living forever." Naruto was extremely pleased with himself. Next, he examined his cultivation base and saw that he had also made quite a bit of progress in that aspect as well. He was now in the great circle of the fourth level of Chakra Condensation.

Furthermore, it was not the ordinary great circle. Because of how the spiritual energy had been compressed inside of him, it's quality was far beyond compare to an ordinary cultivator of the same stage as himself.

Feeling very satisfied, he sped a few laps around the courtyard, then suddenly stopped, eyes gleaming. Lifting his right hand out in front of him, he held his thumb and forefinger out in a U shape. Then he pinched them together, causing a black glow to appear on them. Although nothing happened, cracking sounds could be heard in the air up ahead of him.

Eyes widening, he turned and dashed over to a nearby rock, where he once again caused the black light to flash from his two fingers. As soon as he pinched the fingers together, cracking sounds could be heard as the rock exploded like a piece of tofu.

He flickered into motion again, appeared next to the spiritwinter bamboo, which was now more than nine meters tall. After identifying the toughest of the bamboo stalks, he pinched his fingers together. A boom could be heard as the bamboo shattered.

Naruto took a deep breath and sank down to the ground, where he looked down at his two fingers, and the black glow which was slowly fading away from them. After a bit of time passed, he let out a long breath.

"So, that's the Throat Crushing Grasp, huh...?" he murmured quietly. That was one of the secret magics of the Undying Live Forever Technique, something that could only be unleashed after reaching the first stage of initial success. Supposedly, it could double one's power, and could not be countered.

Just now, Naruto had only used about fifty percent of his full power. He couldn't even imagine how powerful and terrifying the secret magic would be if he unleashed its full power.

From what Naruto could tell, a secret magic like that should be used for killing people. After a moment of silent thought, he came to the conclusion that although it was brutal, he still needed to practice it in earnest. Therefore, he began to zip back and forth in his courtyard, causing a black flashing light and cracking sounds to echo out.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, half a month went by. During that time, Naruto never left his courtyard. He stayed there practicing the entire time. Naturally, he had no way of knowing that after months of being away, Taruho had finally returned to the Spirit Stream Sect, and was currently flying through the air atop a beam of green light, heading directly toward Fragrant Cloud Peak.

After he landed, and before he could even rest, two beams of light shot out from Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak and headed in his direction. Soon, he could make out the figure of an old man in one of the beams of light. He looked like a sharp, unsheathed sword, and emanated the unique pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

In the other beam of light was graceful woman. She looked like a natural beauty, exquisite despite the strange expression on her face. It almost looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Together with the old man, she alighted on the mountain peak.

These two were the peak lords of Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak respectively. After arriving at Fragrant Cloud Peak, they had a private discussion with Taruho, then left.

Taruho stood atop Fragrant Cloud Peak, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Finally, he sent out some divine sense, focusing it on the three spirit tail chicken farms in their various locations on the mountain. When he saw that the only things left were chicks, he similarly looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sighing, he waved his sleeve and began to walk down the mountain. From the direction he took…

It seemed he was heading directly toward Naruto's courtyard residence.

Taruho had actually never been to the area where Naruto's residence was located. After all, it was in a somewhat remote part of the mountain. As he proceeded along, the courtyard residence soon became visible off in the distance.

However, before he could get very close, a fair, clear-faced figure appeared, holding a piece of roasted meat in his hand, walking and eating at the same time. He seemed to be engrossed in his eating, and was even humming a little tune.

Taruho's face darkened as he realized that the meat currently being stuffed into Naruto's mouth was definitely a chicken leg. Anger instantly flared up in his heart.

"Naruto!" he roared, his voice booming out like thunder. Naruto, who was in the middle of sucking on the chicken bone, very nearly jumped up into the air in fright.

"Peak Lord Taruho!" he gasped, his eyes widening. Without even thinking about it, he stuffed the entire chicken bone into his mouth, then vigorously crunched it to pieces and swallowed it down, his face turning a deep purple in the process.

In the entire sect, the person he feared the most was Taruho, which was especially true after having eaten so many of his chickens. Naruto actually felt a little bit guilty. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he hurried over, looking extremely charming and also very sincere as he clasped hands and bowed in greeting.

"Disciple offers greetings, Peak Lord."

Taruho looked at Naruto, his face completely expressionless. Inwardly, he felt a bit torn. Naruto's ancestor had truly shown him a great kindness, and Taruho was the type of person who valued such things deeply. Despite what Naruto had obviously done, he couldn't forget about what had happened all those years ago.

The peak lords from Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak had come to speak with him about the matter of the spirit tail chickens. Although the chickens weren't necessarily very expensive, Taruho couldn't allow other people to criticize his own disciple, so he compensated them with several times more than the chickens' actual value.

Now, he looked at Naruto, feeling even more irritated than ever at how he wasn't living up to expectations.

Taruho snorted and then said, "You've been an Outer Sect disciple for a little more than half a year, but your cultivation base has only progressed from the third level of Chakra Condensation to the fourth. Pleased with yourself?"

Naruto blinked, then cleared his throat, unsure of how to respond. However, he continued to put on the charming face, reassuring himself that as long as he maintained the right attitude, things should work out fine in the end. However, when he thought about the fact that he had just been munching on a spirit tail chicken leg, he couldn't help but sweat.

Taruho felt a headache coming on. After a moment of thought, he coolly continued, "Considering how you've been fooling around, you obviously have a lot of time on your hands. In that case, why don't you join the competition for fourth and fifth level Chakra Condensation disciples in three months? It will be right here on Fragrant Cloud Peak."

Naruto's heart immediately began to pound. He had heard about the competition Taruho was referring to. He knew that there were prizes to be won, but he had also heard that the fighting was fierce. If you weren't careful, it was even possible to get injured. Naruto scowled.

"Peak Lord, I'm only at the fourth level of Chakra Condensation. If I join in the competition, what happens if one of them ends up beating me to death? What would I do then...?"

Taruho completely ignored his question. Looking very serious, he said, "It's not a request. You will join the contest. Plus, if you don't place in the top 5, then I'll..."

Naruto sighed. "I know, you'll expel me from the sect, right...?"

Taruho glared at him. Knowing how mischievous Naruto was, he realized that the threat of being expelled from the sect probably wasn't enough to keep him in place. Remembering how much Naruto feared death, he suddenly swished his sleeve, sweeping Naruto up from the courtyard and then flying toward the top of the mountain.

Naruto's heart began to thump madly. Taruho's expressionless face gave him a very bad feeling. The wind buffeted his face as they flew along, and before he had time to even analyze the matter, Taruho had taken him to a location behind Fragrant Cloud Peak.

It was a place considered to be a restricted area, a place few disciples ever visited. The first thing he noticed was the thick vegetation everywhere.

As they flew down toward the area, Taruho pulled Naruto along until they were in a valley. Almost immediately, a sinister aura could be sensed, and the various plants in the area brightened in color, and even began to rustle.

Naruto's heart raced as he looked at the plants, and a sensation of deadly crisis rose up in his heart. He was just about to speak when, all of a sudden, a crimson viper raised its head, flicking its forked tongue as it stared icily at Naruto.

"Snake!" Naruto had no choice but to follow Taruho into the valley, and when he did, his scalp went numb as he realized that the ground, the plants, and even the trees in this place were filled with countless snakes.

All of them were brightly colored, making it obvious that they were vipers. Furthermore, all of them were staring at him with cold, beady eyes, forked tongues flicking in and out of their mouths.

Naruto started trembling. He had always been scared of snakes, and the way these ones were looking at him left him terrified. Although they didn't actually seem like they were going to attack him, their long fangs dripped with venom in a very frightening fashion.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly remembered that he had his Undying Skin, and that these vipers probably wouldn't be able to bite through it. Considering that, even if there were more snakes than there already were, to him they were about as dangerous as feeble chickens. In the end, they weren't really very scary at all.

However, his eyes then turned up in thought, and he realized how risky it would be to not look scared. If that happened, Taruho might take him to an even more dangerous place. Therefore, he immediately let out a shriek, and tried to look as frightened as possible.

Taruho let out a cold snort, then unleashed his cultivation base. The wriggling snakes slowly moved out of the way to make a small path, at the end of which was a pitch-black cave that emanated a noxious odor.

"Uncle Taruho, s-spare me, please!" Naruto called out in a quavering voice. "I didn't break any sect rules!" Taruho's face was completely expressionless as he grabbed Naruto and dragged him over to the cave. Once they reached the cave mouth, he waved his sleeve, causing the darkness to fill with a bit of light.

Naruto could instantly see that the cave was filled with numerous vipers, some of them very large. The hissing sounds they made seemed to contain some strange, mesmerizing power that instantly caused Naruto's eyes to go wide.

A sensation of crisis rose up, and he began to pant as he realized that the cultivation base power of these vipers was unexpectedly high. There was even one four-colored viper that was comparable to the fifth level of Chakra Condensation.

The stares of the snakes made Naruto feel as if a cold wind were blowing down his back. Then he thought about his Undying Skin and realized that he wouldn't last for very long against these snakes. This time, he didn't need to pretend, he really was scared.

"This is 10,000 Snakes Valley," Taruho said, voice cool, "where we harvest venom here on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Each one of these snakes is extremely venomous. In fact, a single drop of their venom is potent enough to kill a hundred oxen.

"Any cultivator under Foundation Establishment bitten by one of these snakes, who doesn't get the antidote in time, will die. Deep in the cave is the snake king, who is in the great circle of Chakra Condensation. Get bitten by that snake, and even I would have a hard time saving you.

"If you don't get in the top 5 in the Outer Sect's competition, don't worry. I won't expel you from the sect. I'll just bring you here and have you harvest venom." Taruho looked over at Naruto.

"Um... uh... Uncle Taruho, don't worry, it's just a little sect competition, right? Only the top 5, you said, right? I'll definitely pull it off!" Naruto's tongue felt as if it were sticking to the roof of his mouth, and his face was deathly pale. When he heard that there were even more fearsome vipers in the depths of the cave, he swore to himself that he would never come back to this place again in his entire life.

When Taruho heard Naruto's declaration, he smiled inwardly. However, his face remained completely expressionless, and he even snorted as he took Naruto away. When they got back to Fragrant Cloud Peak, he tossed Naruto onto a mountain path and then turned as if to leave.

But then he stopped and looked back. Voice casual, he said, "Oh right, how were the spirit tail chickens?"

Without even waiting for Naruto to respond, he turned and flew off into the distance.

Naruto sighed, then turned and headed back toward his courtyard, frowning the entire way. As he walked along, the wind blew, rustling the leaves, which made him think about the vipers.

Back in his courtyard, he sat there, gnashing his teeth and scowling. "Taru Qinghou... More like Taru the Snake! Ridiculous!"

"I'll definitely never go back to that 10,000 Snakes Valley. If I get bitten, I'll lose my poor little life." In that moment, Naruto made his decision. "I'm definitely going to go all out to get into the top 5!"

"If I'm going to join that competition, then considering the level of my cultivation base, I'm definitely going to need some spirit medicine!" Taking a deep breath, Naruto clenched his fists. A wild gleam appeared in his eyes as he glanced around. Eventually, his gaze fell upon the spiritwinter bamboo.

"After I finish the spiritwinter bamboo mission and get my reward, I'll have enough merit points to get some spirit medicine. Unfortunately, the bamboo hasn't even reached fifteen meters. I'm not sure if that meets the requirements..." Having reached this point in his train of thoughts, Naruto still wasn't certain about the bamboo. However, he didn't have any other options. After doing a few calculations, he confirmed that the appointed deadline to hand in the spirit vegetation was rapidly approaching.

Naruto scowled his way through a few more days. At dawn on the fourth day, he got up early and walked over to the bamboo. Then he wrapped his arms around one stalk after another to pull them up out of the ground.

What he found was that although the bamboo did not seem to be very heavy, each and every stalk actually felt as if it were made from metal, and was incredibly heavy.

The ground trembled constantly until ten stalks of bamboo were uprooted. Each one was close to fifteen meters tall, and as thick as a person. Throwing them over his shoulder, he marched out of the courtyard in the direction of the Missions Office.

Unfortunately, his bag of holding wasn't very big inside, and the bamboo just wouldn't fit in it. That was why he had to physically carry the bamboo. Thankfully, he was much stronger now, having achieved the Undying Iron Skin. Otherwise, he would never have been able to pull the task off.

As he walked along, he muttered to himself miserably. But then he thought about the competition, and the vipers, and possibility of his bones and tendons being snapped in the fighting.

"Why am I so unlucky...?"


	6. Chapter 6

The bamboo was extremely heavy, and he was carrying ten stalks. Couple that with the fact that he was climbing a mountain, and soon Naruto was huffing and puffing. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he was in a really unfair situation.

"I began to practice immortal cultivation because I want to live forever. Why the heck would I go around fighting and killing, huh?

"This bamboo could obviously grow a bit taller, but right now I need those merit points..." The more he thought about the situation, the more annoyed he got at the unfairness of it all. Sighing, he hefted his spiritwinter bamboo as he hiked up the mountain path.

Currently, quite a large group of Outer Sect disciples was gathered outside of Fragrant Cloud Peak's Missions Office, hands filled with various medicinal plants which they would exchange for merit points.

A Fragrant Cloud Peak Elder was present to inspect the items being handed in. The amount of merit points given as a reward depended on the quality of the items handed in.

Just outside of the building itself was a wide, flat boulder, upon which a ruddy-faced, white-haired old man sat cross-legged. A seemingly endless line of disciples stretched out in front of him, and everyone in line had spirit plants clutched in hand. When the old man gave his appraisal, a young assistant off to the side would record the information and dole out the merit points.

"Not bad. This watermist orchid already has four petals. Mid-grade item.

"This woodvein ginseng is a bit too dark, and the earth-type power is too strong. It's completely out of balance. Sorry, it doesn't meet the requirements."

Circling about overhead was a flock of elegant five-colored phoenixes, each one more than three meters long. Occasionally, they would make melodious calls that rang out in the area.

They were spirit pets belonging to the elder who sat there, and whenever the appointed day came to hand in plants and vegetation, the birds would come along with him. They were, of course, the subject of much envy on the part of the Outer Sect disciples.

The elder's cultivation base was in the Foundation Establishment stage, and was clearly beyond ordinary. Although his overall skill with spirit medicines didn't match up to Taruho's, he was still very famous in the sect. Furthermore, his obsession with the Dao of medicines had reached a frightening level that even Taruho couldn't equal. Many people even said that if a third master apothecary ever appeared in the Eastwood Continent, then it would definitely be this very Elder Obito.

There was one particular young man in the line who wasn't very handsome, but stood tall and straight. When he reached Elder Obito, he clasped hands and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Elder Obito, it's me, Tokuma."

When the other Outer Sect disciples in the area heard the young man's name, they all looked over curiously.

"Oh, so he's Elder Brother Tokuma. I heard that he's quite gifted when it comes to growing spirit plants."

"I heard that too. Ever since Tokuma joined the sect, he's never grown a spirit plant that got less than a high-grade rating. He's really incredible!"

As the discussions continued in low tones, Tokuma stood there with a tranquil, indifferent expression on his face. However, deep in his eyes burned a proud and lofty air.

Elder Obito could see how pleased Tokuma was. He had long since been keeping an eye on him, considering how gifted he was when it came to growing spirit plants.

"Tokuma, what type of plant did you grow this time?" Elder Obito asked warmly.

"Elder Obito, I'm happy to report that I grew spiritwinter bamboo!" With that, Tokuma waved his hand, causing ten stalks of spiritwinter bamboo to appear. Each one was as thick as an arm, and over two meters long. They were emerald green, and even flickered with a faint green glow.

"I first soaked the seeds in a spirit spring, then ground some spirit stones into gravel to act as soil. Next, I fed the plants with my own spiritual energy at least every six hours. Every three days, I would carefully tend to their leaves, and I even used the Ninegreens Profound Magic I mastered, as well as other medicinal plants, to grow them to this level!"

"Very good," said Elder Obito, stroking his beard. The praise in his eyes was clear. "These stalks of bamboo are over two meters long, and pulse with green energy. They exceed the high-grade mark, and can be classified as extreme high-grade. I encourage you to keep working hard. If you can grow the bamboo to over three meters, then they will be classified as superior-grade."

When the surrounding Outer Sect disciple heard the words extreme high-grade, even more discussions broke out, and numerous envious gazes were cast in the direction of the spiritwinter bamboo.

A smile broke out on Tokuma's face, and the lofty gleam in his eyes intensified. He clasped hands and bowed, and was just about to walk over to the assistant to collect his merit points, when a cold snort suddenly rang out.

"Elder Obito, Disciple Iwashi also grew some spiritwinter bamboo!" A long-faced young man with narrow eyes suddenly appeared. As he approached, he cast a glance of disdain in Tokuma's direction. His sudden appearance on the scene instantly caused excitement among the surrounding Outer Sect disciples, who all looked over at him.

"It's Elder Brother Iwashi! Elder Brother Iwashi's skill with spirit plants and vegetation is supposedly neck and neck with Tokuma's!"

"Well now we get to see them face off. They've been rivals for some time now, and both of them want to be known as the number one botanist among all the disciples."

Tokuma's expression immediately darkened. He looked coldly at Iwashi, who glared back at him. The hostility in their eyes instantly intensified.

"Iwashi, go ahead and take out your spiritwinter bamboo," Elder Obito said encouragingly. Apparently, even he was interested in finding out what was going to happen. He was well aware of the competition between the two young disciples, and was in fact happy to see it. It was only by means of healthy competition that great advancement could be made.

Iwashi clasped hands and bowed to Elder Obito, then slapped his bag of holding to produce ten stalks of spiritwinter bamboo, each and every one of which was over three meters long and thicker than a person's leg. They were bright emerald green and even seemed somewhat crystalline. From the spiritual energy they emanated, it was clear that they were beyond normal, and also far above Tokuma's in terms of quality.

The mere sight of the bamboo sent the crowd into an uproar. Most people had heard that spiritwinter bamboo could grow longer than three meters, but had never seen it before.

Spiritwinter bamboo three meters long! I wonder how long it took to grow?"

"That spiritwinter bamboo has reached the point where it's emanating spiritual energy. Elder Brother Iwashi's ability with plants definitely puts him as the number one Outer Sect disciple on Fragrant Cloud Peak!"

Seeing how excited the crowd was, Iwashi smiled provokingly at Tokuma.

Tokuma's face immediately darkened.

As for Elder Obito, his eyes gleamed with praise as he looked at the bamboo and then nodded.

"Excellent, excellent. Quite a few disciples have handed in spiritwinter bamboo today, but yours is definitely the best in terms of quality. It isn't high-grade, it's definitely superior-grade. Very, very good job, Iwashi. Keep up the good work!"

Iwashi once again bowed to Elder Obito, then looked over challengingly at Tokuma. "Junior Brother Tokuma, it seems you need to put some more work into your studies."

Tokuma's expression grew even darker, and he snorted coldly. "Isn't it a bit early to gloat, Elder Brother Iwashi? After all, it doesn't count when you have someone helping you. Next time, I'll definitely grow the spiritwinter bamboo to five meters tall!"

Hearing this, Iwashi laughed heartily. "Junior Brother Tokuma, if you talk yourself up too much, you're bound to crash and burn. spiritwinter bamboo is extremely hard to grow because of the incredible amount of spiritual energy it requires. For Chakra Condensation disciples like us, growing it to three meters is the absolute limit of the limit. And you think you're going to grow it to five meters? Only Foundation Establishment Elders could do something like that. That's not even to mention six meters. In all the years I've been in the sect, I've never even seen six-meter-tall Spiritwin-"

Before Iwashi could even finish speaking, booming thuds could be heard from the path leading up to the Missions Office, as if some enormous creature were approaching. Instantly, the Outer Sect disciples turned in shock, whereupon gasps began to ring out.

The standoff between Iwashi and Tokuma was also interrupted, and both of them frowned and looked over toward the path.

Soon, what became visible were the tops of several stalks of enormous bamboo, thicker than a person. They were a bright emerald green, and if you looked closely, you would even see some violet specks flickering on their surface. They also emanated a splendid, multicolored glow.

Even more shocking was the powerful spiritual energy emanating off of the bamboo, which instantly led to cries of shock.

"Wh-what is that stuff!?"

"It looks like some kind of tree! But at the same time, it also looks like bamboo!"

Tokuma and Iwashi were frowning, and couldn't even identify what it was they were looking at. However, they could tell that it was something incredible. Off to the side, Elder Obito's eyes were wide as he stared at the bamboo, and he even began to pant slightly.

Everyone stared as more and more of the bamboo became visible. When the bamboo was completely revealed, shockingly, each stalk was fifteen meters tall, and it was being carried by a petite young man, who was currently panting as he trudged up the path, the bamboo slung over his shoulder.

He almost looked like an ant carrying a steamed mantou...

Every step that he took resulted in a booming thud, and as he walked along, the Outer Sect disciples made way for him, shocked by how strong he appeared to be.

The young man was, of course, Naruto, who had been grumbling to himself the entire way about the brutality of the competition and the horror of 10,000 Snakes Valley. Although he wanted to cry, no tears would come, and as he trudged along, he didn't even notice the crowd of people looking at him. When he reached Elder Obito, he tossed the bamboo down onto the ground, which resulted in a huge boom. Then he sat down on top of the bamboo, huffing and puffing a bit as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"I couldn't fit this bamboo in my bag of holding. Man, I'm totally worn out. Oh, hello Elder, I'm here to hand in this mission." All of a sudden, Naruto got an odd feeling, and looked around to find everyone in the crowd staring at his bamboo. Gasps could even be heard.

"Bamboo... That stuff is actually bamboo?"

"It's so big! I've never seen bamboo that big before. Come on, they must be trees, right?!"

Tokuma and Iwashi couldn't conceal their astonishment as they realized what they were looking at. However, they almost couldn't make themselves believe it was true, and knelt down to inspect the bamboo more closely. Iwashi began to tremble, and had to resist the urge to try and break open one of the bamboo stalks to examine it from the inside.

Before he could, Elder Obito tromped over and then waved his sleeve, sending Tokuma and Iwashi tumbling off to the side. Then Elder Obito stood there, staring at the bamboo with wide eyes. After a long moment, he took a deep breath and said, "Th-this... this really is spiritwinter bamboo!"

The surrounding Outer Sect disciples gaped in shock for a moment, and then burst into an uproar.

"Spiritwinter bamboo! I can't believe those big trees... are actually spiritwinter bamboo!"

"How is that even possible? How could spiritwinter bamboo get so thick? Heavens, they're actually fifteen meters long!"

"Fifteen meters and as thick as a person. Th-that's... bamboo?"

The sounds of the uproar grew even louder as people began to compare Naruto's bamboo with that of Tokuma and Iwashi.

Naruto gaped in shock at the commotion. Tokuma and Iwashi, apparently completely oblivious to the pain caused by Elder Obito tossing them aside, rushed back toward the bamboo and knelt down to examine it.

Elder Obito began to study the stalks of bamboo one by one, his expression that of shock and elation.

Everyone's crazed reaction left Naruto somewhat alarmed. In his mind, these people were acting like lunatics. It was just bamboo, after all, right? Besides, he had originally planned to grow it to a total of thirty meters before turning it in.

Naruto took a few steps back and then tried to get the Elder's attention.

"Elder..." he cried loudly.

"Wonderful! Amazing!" Elder Obito said, laughing as he began to caress each and every inch of the bamboo. Apparently, he hadn't even heard Naruto speaking. "Spiritwinter bamboo like this is extremely rare. Only by growing it to fifteen meters can it achieve such a deep green color. In fact, at this point, it's not a medicinal plant, but rather, the primary ingredient to forge spirit bamboo swords. It can even be used to cast certain unique magical techniques!

"Listen up everyone. Take a deep breath." Looking very excited, Elder Obito closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose. "Can you smell that fragrance? It smells like flesh and bone, right? That's the unique aroma that appears after this type of bamboo reaches fifteen meters!"

Tokuma and Iwashi earnestly followed suit. The other disciples in the area also pressed forward to do the same.

Naruto cleared his throat. He had noticed that same aroma as he was carrying the bamboo down the path. However, he was pretty sure that... it was actually the aroma of chicken bones. After all, he had buried several hundred spirit tail chicken skeletons in the spirit field where he had grown the spiritwinter bamboo. Furthermore... those bones had all been stripped clean of their meat by none other than him.

By now, Naruto was thoroughly convinced that these people were crazy.

"Elder..." he cried out again.

However, it was at this point that a violent tremor ran through Elder Zhou; flames of rage sprang up in his eyes, and his expression twisted with rage.

"Dammit! What the hell happened here? Someone actually bit a chunk out? Spiritwinter bamboo is extremely bitter and can't be eaten raw! What bastard actually bit a chunk out and ruined the quality!?" Elder Obito seemed to be filled with grief; to him, it was like discovering a perfect piece of beautiful jade, only to find one part that had been destroyed by pests. His head suddenly whipped up to look at Naruto.

"It wasn't me!" Naruto blurted, backing up nervously. He suddenly thought back to the first time he had been struck by incredible hunger. In his desperation at not having anything to eat, he had taken a bite out of one of the stalks of bamboo. How could he ever have imagined this would be the terrifying scene that would result when he went to hand in the mission, or how that single bite would affect these lunatics?

When the surrounding disciples heard what Elder Obito said, they peered over toward the last of the spiritwinter bamboo stalks, and sure enough, there was a big bite mark clearly visible.

Elder Obito stared at the damaged portion of the bamboo, then let out a long sigh. After all, he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and was obsessed with the Dao of medicines. However, this bamboo that Naruto had brought was so shocking, and so different from anything Elder Obito had ever seen before, that he had lost his composure just now.

Finally, he took a deep look at Naruto, then flicked his sleeve.

"This bamboo is extreme super-grade... no, wait, supreme-grade. Yes, list it as supreme-grade. The reward is 10,000 merit points!" The audience gasped in response. The usual reward for plant-growing missions was usually about 10 merit points. At the most, one might be able to get 100. But in this case, the reward was 10,000!

Off to the side, the assistant gaped in shock. For years and years, it had always been a rarity to have a spirit plant listed as supreme-grade.

In fact, this was the first one in hundreds of years.

Naruto was very excited, and immediately walked over to the assistant and handed over his identity medallion. The assistant hesitated for a moment, then looked over at Elder Obito, who was still studying the bamboo, then gritted his teeth and gave the merit points to Naruto.

Having acquired his merit points, Naruto quickly turned to leave, determined to never come back and deal with these lunatics ever again.

However, before he could leave, Elder Obito suddenly called out. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Naruto," was the immediate response. "I'm Naruto, and my uncle is Taruho!" Before coming here, he had been completely unaware that the bamboo would cause such a scene, and he was actually a bit worried about that, which was why he pulled out Taruho's name, as sort of a threat.

"Hmph." Elder Obito seemed to be irritated that Naruto would resort to dropping Taruho's name. "You might think you're pretty clever, but the Spirit Stream Sect is one of the great sects, with a long history. There are always disciples who come along with their secrets and their unique good fortune. I won't lower myself to the level of asking for the specifics of how you grew this bamboo, but next time you grow something similar, you make sure to bring it all to me. I'll make sure you get a nice reward of merit points!" Finally, he waved his hand to dismiss Naruto, then went back to studying the bamboo. It was at this point that, because of the matter with the bamboo, the entire mission-handover event concluded.

Naruto clutched his identity medallion firmly in hand as he hurried away from the Missions Office and then headed directly toward Fragrant Cloud Peak's Spirit Medicine Pharmacy, which was where disciples could acquire spirit medicines.

It was also where disciples could hand over spirit medicines that they had crafted, and thus earn merit points.

Naruto sped over at top speed, then hurried around the Spirit Medicine Pharmacy trying to choose what to buy. Eventually he decided to purchase a bottle of medicinal pills suitable for the fifth level of Chakra Condensation. These medicinal pills were by no means cheap. Naruto had originally assumed that 10,000 merit points was a lot, but unexpectedly, the spirit medicines were actually very expensive.

"Greengod Spiritgathering Pills," he murmured, looking at the medicinal pill bottle he held in his hand. Inside were three medicinal pills, which had cost him fully 4,000 merit points.

However, these were pills that ordinary Chakra Condensation disciples would usually not have access to. They were quite extraordinary; not only was their medicinal strength greater than that of ordinary spirit medicine, they could provide purer spiritual energy.

Naruto wasn't convinced that merely stepping into the fifth level of Chakra Condensation would be enough, so he planned to break through all the way to the great circle of the fifth level.

He had thought about aiming for the sixth level of Chakra Condensation to avoid having to fight in the competition, but if he did that, he could well imagine how Taruho would come up with some other method of punishing him.

As for the rest of his merit points, he didn't let them go to waste. He traded them for some disposable defensive talismans. With those hidden in his robe, he felt much safer.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough merit points to go through with his plan of heading to the Treasure Pavilion to acquire a weapon or two suitable for the Chakra Condensation stage. Instead, he headed back toward his residence. Once back in the courtyard, he sat down cross-legged in his log cabin, then pulled the medicinal pills out and studied them closely.

"I still have three months to go. It's time for some secluded meditation!" Gritting his teeth, he looked around to make sure no one was watching, then performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. Instantly, the turtle-wok flew out, along with a bunch of spirit tails, which he used to start a three-colored flame.

One tail feather wasn't enough to satisfy the turtle-wok. He had to feed in ten before the three designs on the wok lit up brightly. Then, he took a deep breath and put the three medicinal pills inside to perform a threefold spirit enhancement.

After the process was completed, the Greengod Spiritgathering Pills in his hand had three silver designs covering their surfaces. Finally, he placed one of them in his mouth.

The medicinal pill dissolved, and spiritual energy began to course through him explosively. Naruto instantly began to utilize the breathing techniques and postures of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, using them to manage the flow of the spiritual energy.

A few days later, rumbling sounds filled Naruto's log cabin, and numerous dust particles blasted out in a shock wave. Moments later, Naruto's laughter could be heard ringing out.

"Fifth level of Chakra Condensation!" he said, panting, eyes shining brightly. After eating so many spirit tail chickens recently, his cultivation base had already reached the great circle of the fourth level of Chakra Condensation. By eating that one medicinal pill, he was able to easily break through into the fifth level.

More filth was expelled out from inside of him, but not as much as before. After washing up, he didn't immediately take out another medicinal pill, but rather, took time to stabilize his cultivation base. After five days passed, he took out the second of his threefold spirit enhanced Greengod Spiritgathering Pills, and consumed it. As the spiritual energy coursed through him, the river that was his spirit meridian grew larger, and flowed faster, causing his cultivation base to climb higher at a rapid rate.

After stabilizing himself for a few more days, he consumed the third Greengod Spiritgathering Pill, and his cultivation base shot up to the great circle of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation.

By this point, everything about him seemed different than before. His skin was fairer, and there was something unique about his energy.

Naruto was quite happy, but also realized that, normally speaking, it would be impossible to use only three medicinal pills to break through from the great circle of the fourth level of Chakra Condensation all the way to the great circle of the fifth level, and then be only a hair away from reaching the sixth level.

As far as he could tell, the only reason he was able to do so was the turtle-wok and its spirit enhancement ability.

The more Naruto practiced cultivation, the more obvious it was to him how helpful the turtle-wok was. That in turn caused him to become even more curious about its origins.

Although it looked like a turtle shell, the more he studied it, the more it seemed that it wasn't.

In recent days, he had looked more into the matter of spirit enhancement, and had learned that Violet Cauldron Peak was known for their spirit enhancement abilities. In fact, if you paid enough merit points, you could even acquire the services of the Elders there to perform spirit enhancements. Word had it that the peak lord of Violet Cauldron Peak was a grand master when it came to spirit enhancements.

Running his fingers along the designs that covered the turtle-wok, Naruto's eyes glittered. Finally, he shook his head. There were too many things he didn't understand, and it wouldn't do any good to waste time thinking about them. Reaching his hand out, he caused the green jade pendant and his wooden sword to appear.

These were the only magical devices he owned at the moment. Gritting his teeth, he produced some more spirit tails as he prepared to perform threefold spirit enhancements on them.

"I wonder what the wooden sword and jade pendant will look like after I do the threefold spirit enhancement."

The wave of a hand caused the three designs on the turtle-wok to light up. When he sent the jade pendant flying inside, silver light shone, and rumbling sounds like that of thunder could be heard. Thankfully, they didn't echo out very far, so nobody heard them.

When the silver light faded away, the green jade pendant had three silver designs on it, which flickered brightly for a moment before fading away. However, Naruto could sense that the jade pendant's aura was now as different from before as the Heavens were from the Earth.

In fact, it was even possible to see glowing violet specks within the green of the jade pendant. Even the shape of the pendant had changed; instead of being oval, it had now been flattened into a circular shape.

Naruto poured some spiritual energy into it, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as a green shield sprang up around him, fully a meter thick and completely astonishing to behold.

After performing a quick test on the defensive power of the jade pendant, Naruto couldn't help but laugh out loud. Next, he turned his attention to the wooden sword. He had acquired this wooden sword the moment he had joined the sect, and since then, had performed spirit enhancements on it twice.

"With the protective power of this jade pendant, after I perform a threefold spirit enhancement on my little wooden sword, I'll definitely be completely extraordinary!" Naruto smiled, then began to prepare the little wooden sword for the spirit enhancement.

Silver light flickered within the turtle-wok. As it faded away, the little wooden sword appeared in front of Naruto. Three silver designs gleamed on its surface, then gradually faded away. At the same time, the physical appearance of the sword changed. It was longer by a finger's length, and the grain of the wood was now virtually completely violet.

There was also a bizarre aroma which pulsed out of the sword, an aroma which, upon entering the nose, seemed sweet, but quickly caused the mind to enter a state of confused distraction.

Naruto trembled for a moment, but then his eyes grew clear. He looked in shock at the wooden sword for a moment, then reached out to grab it, whereupon he found that it was many times heavier than before. Unexpectedly, as he held it in his hand, it felt as heavy as a boulder.

Eyes glittering, he examined the sword, and gradually a profound gleam rose up in his eyes.

"This wooden sword is made from the rarely-seen heavycloud wood," he murmured, "which only needs to be refined for forty-nine days before you can use it in equipment forging. It can also be used in mass-production." Next, he focused on the veins in the wood of the sword.

"Violet veins. There's only one explanation for that. After performing these handful of spirit enhancements, these are the signs of the sword's transmogrification." Naruto closed his eyes and began to review the information about heavycloud wood that he had gleaned when studying about plants and vegetation.

After a while, his eyes opened, and they gleamed with anticipation. He performed an incantation gesture and then tapped the little wooden sword, which instantly caused a black light to flicker out, within which were tiny violet specks. Suddenly, the sword shot out of the log cabin, across the courtyard, and then another thirty meters or so, where it stabbed into a huge boulder.

Without making a single sound, the sword then spun around inside of the rock, pierced out of it, and flew back to Naruto.

The sword wasn't damaged at all, and in fact began to emanate a piercing aura.

Naruto's expression brightened. He played around with the sword a little bit more, then once again painted over the designs. Finally, he opened the door of his log cabin, stepped out, and took a deep breath. Unfortunately, as soon as he thought about the competition in two months, his previously high spirits sank a bit.

"This isn't good enough. I'm still not well enough prepared. The other people in the competition are definitely going to be vicious beasts. I need to do more." Grinding his teeth, he thought about the two levels of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, which he had read about in the manual.

Lightness-in-Heaviness. Heaviness-in-Lightness.

Those two levels of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art were powerful magics that appeared when cultivating the art. If both were cultivated to the pinnacle, they could lead to a divine ability called Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning.

On the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, the fundamental techniques of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art were something that virtually everyone practiced. However, few people cultivated Lightness-in-Heaviness, and as for the second stage of Heaviness-in-Lightness, that was even more rare. As for those who cultivated the art to the absolute peak, and could unleash the Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning divine ability, they were most rare of all.

Actually, the majority of those who gained enlightenment of Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning were disciples from Violet Cauldron Peak.

"Lightness-in-Heaviness... Only by reaching that stage of being able to completely control physical objects can I even be absolutely assured of rising above the pack." Naruto continued to think about the description of the technique as he gazed down at the little wooden sword.

Back when he had fought his battle with Sora, everyone from the Supervisors' Department and even the Ovens had mistakenly assumed that he had gained enlightenment of Lightness-in-Heaviness. Now that he thought back to the situation, an idea flickered through his mind.

"The reason people thought I had achieved Lightness-in-Heaviness was because of how adeptly I controlled my little wooden sword. However, the real reason behind that was mostly because of how incredible the sword became after my spirit enhancement.

"The truth of the matter is that my ability to control it isn't actually that incredible, and definitely is not Lightness-in-Heaviness." Frowning, Naruto randomly sat down cross-legged and looked at the wooden sword. Gradually, his eyes grew blank, and were soon shot with blood.

A moment later, his right hand suddenly waved up into the air, sending the little wooden sword flying out. It whistled through the air in front of him, kicking up a cloud of dust. Naruto's frown deepened as his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then pointed his finger out. However, what he pointed at wasn't the sword, but rather, the huge rock outside the courtyard that he had just stabbed with the sword moments ago.

The wave of his finger caused the huge stone to tremble slightly, then gradually rise up into the air by about one third of a meter. But then Naruto's spiritual energy grew unstable, and it thumped back down with a boom.

Naruto was not dismayed, though. In fact, quite the opposite. His eyes began to shine brightly. Focusing completely, he circulated his spiritual energy and once again waved his finger.

Once, twice, three times...

Time passed. Half a month was gone in the blink of an eye. Virtually that entire time, Naruto worked on trying to control the boulder. Of course, this boulder was about as tall as three people put together, and weighed about 10000-20000 kilograms. Despite the fact that Naruto was already in the great circle of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation, manipulating an object like this was not an easy task.

The only reason Naruto could do so was because of the extraordinarily refined state of his cultivation base. Anyone else in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation would never be able to move the boulder more than a handful of centimeters.

Naruto worked hard for an entire month. By this point, he realized that the reason controlling the boulder was so difficult wasn't because of a lack of spiritual energy, but rather, that his level of control was lacking. Even when he still had plenty of spiritual energy, the connection would always break.

"The key is to move the threads of spiritual energy at a constant speed," he muttered hoarsely, eyes bloodshot but shining brightly. "That's how to make sure they never break."

It was the same principle that applied to mortals when they were making noodles at home. If you pulled the dough apart too quickly, it would snap. If you went too slowly, it would be impossible to stretch them out very far. You had to use just the right amount of strength, and then you can control the objects smoothly and clearly however you wish.

If cultivators wanted to control physical objects to a degree that surpassed the ordinary, they would need to use just the right amount of strength, and maintain stability. Of course, that increased the level of difficulty significantly.

"I get it now!" Naruto thought excitedly. "Lightness-in-Heaviness is about more than the words 'light' and 'heavy'. It's not just being able to control heavy objects as if they didn't weigh a lot. That's just the surface meaning. The true, deeper meaning has to do, not with physical objects, but rather, with the way you manipulate spiritual energy!

"In the fifth level of Chakra Condensation, your total reserve of spiritual energy is what makes the heaviness. When you take that spiritual energy and convert it into numerous tiny, unbreakable threads, that is the lightness. Doing it correctly is Lightness-in-Heaviness. Of course, with the surface meaning, the result is the speed with which you can effortlessly control physical objects!" After getting to the root of the problem, he waved his hand again, and the boulder began to tremble. Then it suddenly rose up into the air.

It was almost as if some enormous hand had simply grabbed it and pulled it up. Then, it began to whistle through the air toward Naruto. However, before it could reach him, it suddenly fell down out of the air into his courtyard, where it kicked up a huge cloud of dust.

Naruto felt no discouragement. He continued to practice for another half a month. Unfortunately, for that entire time, he was unable to maintain one continuously stable thread of spiritual energy.

Even when he was able to form a stable thread, the incredible heaviness of the rock ensured that the threads of spiritual energy always grew unstable and broke.

Of course, when it came to controlling the little wooden sword, he had no problems whatsoever. Because of the vast difference in weight between the boulder and the sword, Naruto now felt that controlling the wooden sword was much, much easier. Furthermore, after the month or more of training, he could move it with much greater speed.

In actuality, he really had achieved Lightness-in-Heaviness. However, he wasn't satisfied. Eyes completely bloodshot, he gritted his teeth, and that vicious determination once again appeared.

"I refuse to believe I can't do it!" He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing the boulder to fly over and hover directly above him.

Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he looked up nervously at the rock, exerting all the possible effort he could muster to preserve that invisible thread of spiritual energy. After all, if it broke, then the rock would fall. Although it wouldn't kill him, it would definitely be very painful.

This time, he was clearly able to maintain the connection for a lot longer than before. However, after about an hour passed, rumbling sounds began to echo out, and then Naruto let out a yelp as the stone smashed down. After a long moment, it trembled and fell off to the side as Naruto crawled out from underneath it.

Thanks to his Undying Skin, he wasn't hurt. However, the pain of what had just occurred left him grimacing.

Despite that, his resolve grew even more intense. Another month went by, and the rock smashed down onto him over and over again. Eventually, he reached the point where he could actually keep it afloat for an entire day without dropping it.

Furthermore, the height to which he could lift it grew greater and greater. Soon, he could hold it thirty meters high in the air. Of course, the pain that resulted when he dropped it from that height left Naruto completely pale-faced.

However, that was the only way to refine himself to the pinnacle.

Gradually, his ability to achieve Lightness-in-Heaviness with his internal spiritual energy was growing more and more stable. Eventually, he reached the point where he almost never broke the connection. However, he still wasn't satisfied. Next, he didn't practice while sitting cross-legged, but instead, while exercising.

That made things even more difficult, and led to continuous booms ringing out in his courtyard.

Time passed, one day at a time. Soon the competition Taruho had mentioned was now only three days away. The scene in Naruto's courtyard was that of a figure zipping around while a 10000 kilogram boulder floated around up above. Despite how much Naruto was moving around, the boulder remained motionless up in the air.

Eventually, Naruto stopped running around, and stood there in front of his log cabin, laughing heartily. Then, he waved his right hand, causing the boulder to fly out of the courtyard and settle back firmly into the ground.

Next, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing his little wooden sword to slash out in front of him. It moved so quickly it was little more than a blur; clearly it was much more powerful than before.

Naruto's face lit up with delight, and his hand began to flash with incantation gestures.

The speed combined with the might of the sword, resulting in a shocking combination. All of a sudden, the courtyard almost seemed to be filled with innumerable little wooden swords, all flying about.

In the end, he flicked his sleeve, causing the sword projections to vanish. Only one wooden sword remained, which then shot back toward Naruto and vanished into his bag of holding.

"Now I finally feel ready to get into the top 5." Naruto took a deep breath. Although he didn't feel one hundred percent confident, time was running out. All he could do was settle his Chakra and calm his mind, then sit down cross-legged to meditate and put himself in the proper state.

Three days later. Dawn.

Naruto's eyes opened at sunrise. He took a deep breath, and a serious expression could be seen on his face. This was his first time taking part in a competition like this.

His fight early on with Sora actually didn't really count as much of a battle. However, now that he was going to participate in Fragrant Cloud Peak's Outer Sect competition, he would be truly fighting against his fellow sect members.

He slowly rose to his feet, organized his bag of holding, and then somberly walked out of his residence. Moments later though, he came running back and started rummaging around under his bed until he found the leather coats he still had from back in his days at the Ovens. After donning several layers, he then placed his jade pendant somewhere he could access it easily.

Were it not for the fact that it would have led to too many questions, he would have put his turtle-wok on his back.

"Ah, why didn't I think of this earlier!" he thought regretfully. "I can't believe I forgot about that big black wok of mine." However, he was running out of time, and had no choice but to grit his teeth, turn, and leave. Taking a glance in the direction of the distant sun, his eyes filled with determination. Puffing his chest out, he began to climb toward the top of the mountain.

At the moment, he was wearing far too many layers of leather clothing. Even though he didn't have the big black wok on, he still looked somewhat like a sticky rice dumpling... He was bundled up so tightly that after walking for only a little bit, he was already starting to sweat.

However, even if he sweat more profusely, he wouldn't shed even one item of clothing. The competition was too important, and he couldn't stop thinking about how brutal it would be. As he walked along the path, he suddenly realized that it was quite a foggy morning on the mountain, and he actually had no idea where exactly he was.

"Did I take a wrong turn...?" he thought, and instantly looked around for someone to ask directions from. At the same time, his heart began to thump from the fear of possibly being late.

At the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak was a fighting arena, which was where the competition was to take place. Quite a few people were already gathered there to watch the proceedings, and were chatting in hushed tones.

There were even some disciples in the audience who were in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation, although most of them stood there with arms folded across their chests as they looked at their Junior Brothers and Sisters who would be participating in the competition. Of course, there were also people there to cheer on their friends.

This Outer Sect competition wasn't very formal, but it was a place where the participants could stand out from the crowd. There were about twenty people who had come to join the competition, all of whom were sitting in the area cross-legged in meditation, preparing in earnest for the fighting to begin.

No one in the competition was in the third level of Chakra Condensation. Although the rules allowed for that, most of the people who actually joined the competition were in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation, although there were five or six who were in the fourth level.

There was one young woman among the group who stood out from everyone else. She was tall and beautiful, and her Outer Sect disciple uniform could not conceal her curvaceous form. Anyone who laid eyes on her wouldn't be able to stop from slipping into a bit of a reverie.

Her skin was white like snow, and she had eyebrows that curved as gracefully as willow leaves. She really was spectacularly beautiful. As for the Daoist trousers she wore, although they were loose, they stretched tightly around her rear end in a way that made it virtually impossible for any man to look away.

There were quite a few Outer Sect disciples clustered around her, obviously her admirers.

Although she couldn't quite compare to Kurenai, she was still one of the most famous of the Outer Sect disciples, Ryuzetsu.

"Elder Sister Ryuzetsu's cultivation base is in the great circle of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation, so she'll definitely take first place in this competition. There's not even any suspense in the matter."

"You can't underestimate Elder Brother Tokuma, though. I heard that he had a cultivation base breakthrough last month. He might not be in the great circle of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation, but he's close." Standing not too far away from Ryuzetsu was an arrogant-looking young man, the same Tokuma who had been shocked by Naruto's bamboo outside the Missions Office that day.

Even as everyone was discussing the matter, Tokuma looked over at Ryuzetsu with a strange gleam in his eyes. Although he wasn't too confident in being able to take first place, he was pretty certain he could take second. Besides, he might also be able to take advantage of the situation to get to know Ryuzetsu a bit better.

It was at about this point that two beams of light whistled through the air from off in the distance. It was none other than Taruho, followed by an emaciated old man. The old man had swarthy skin, but his eyes shone brightly, and he seemed like a very strict person.

The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were completely shocked to find that Taruho would be in attendance at the competition, and quickly clasped hands in greeting.

"Greeting, Peak Lord. Greetings, Elder Iruka." Everyone was flabbergasted that the peak lord would personally come to an event like this. Small competitions like this were almost always presided over by Elder Iruka.

Ryuzetsu and Tokuma were also shocked, and had very serious expressions on their faces as they bowed in greeting to Taruho.

Taruho looked around benevolently, nodding. As he scanned the crowd of disciples, however, he frowned when he realized that Naruto wasn't there.

When the surrounding Outer Sect disciple saw Taruho frowning, their hearts began to thump. Ryuzetsu instantly began to get nervous, unsure of why the peak lord might be displeased.

"Shall we begin, Peak Lord?" asked Elder Iruka, who stood next to Taruho.

Taruho was just about to reply when, all of a sudden, a sweat-soaked spheroid shape could be seen speeding toward them from off in the distance.

"I got lost!" cried Naruto as he ran along. "It was too foggy..." Not only was Naruto very nervous, he also felt that the whole situation was very unfair. After all, he wasn't very familiar with all the mountain paths, and considering how foggy it had been, he had simply gotten lost while thinking.

As soon as the words left his mouth, all of the Outer Sect disciple involuntarily looked over. There were quite a few of them who were familiar with Naruto, and when they heard the words he called out, they began to snicker. As for those who didn't know him, they frowned, and gleams of derision could be seen in their eyes.

As far as they were concerned, the only reason he could have for getting lost on the way to the competition was that he rarely ventured up to the top of the mountain, and didn't care much about the competitions that the sect held. Most likely, he was only used to strolling around for pleasure.

Ryuzetsu looked at him, and remembered him as one of the people who had been chasing after Kurenai recently. Supposedly, he had worked hard to catch the great chicken bandit. Ryuzetsu immediately turned away in disdain, not willing to even look at him.

Tokuma looked at Naruto in complete shock, and couldn't help but glance over at Taruho. He hadn't forgotten what Naruto had said at the Missions Office about Taruho being his uncle. That would explain why Taruho had been frowning right now, and after analyzing the matter, he realized that when fighting Naruto, he would have to be careful not to beat him too badly.

Taruho snorted coldly, glaring at Naruto for a moment before nodding at Elder Iruka.

Elder Iruka looked thoughtfully at Naruto for a moment, then laughed and waved his sleeve. "Very well. All disciples who wish to participate in the Outer Sect fighting competition, please step into the arena."

Seeing Taruho's glare caused Naruto to feel more than ever that the situation was completely unfair. However, he didn't dare to give voice to his sentiments. As soon as the words left Elder Iruka's mouth, Naruto was the first disciple to leap up onto the platform, chest puffed out proudly, looking as though mountains of daggers and seas of flames couldn't impinge on his honor.

Soon, all the contestants were in the arena. Including Naruto, there were twenty in total.

The rules for competitions like this one were fairly lax. Elder Iruka looked at the contestants for a moment, then pulled out a small cloth sack, within which were a collection of marbles with numbers on them. One by one, the competitors filed over to take a marble, which would indicate the order in which they fought.

Naruto didn't manage to get first in line. He got stuck in the middle, and when he pulled out his marble, it had the number 11 written on it.

"Very well," Elder Iruka said coolly. "Now, everyone step back so that the first match can begin. Fighters number one and two, prepare to begin!" Naruto and the others quickly left the fighting arena, whereas the disciples with the number one and two marbles remained. As the two stared each other down, brilliant light began to shine in their eyes.

Soon they began to fight, and the booming sounds of battle rang out. Meanwhile, Naruto's mind was racing. He kept telling himself that, considering there were twenty people in this competition, all he had to do was win twice to make it into the top 5. He was also wondering who it was that got the number twelve marble, but no one was willing to reveal to everyone else which numbers they had, making it virtually impossible for him to determine who he would be fighting.

Even as his spirits began to fall, the first match ended, and the second began. Ryuzetsu was one of the fighters in this match, and she immediately performed an incantation gesture, causing a banner to fly out, which then turned into a stream of mist that enveloped her opponent. After struggling a bit, the disciple couldn't escape, and conceded, filled with admiration for Ryuzetsu.

The third and fourth matches went by quickly enough, and when it came time for the fifth match, Tokuma secured a quick and efficient victory over a disciple in the fourth level of Chakra Condensation.

"Fighters number eleven and twelve, step forward and let the match begin," Elder Iruka called out. Naruto took a deep breath and walked forward, a very serious expression on his face. After setting foot into the arena, he found that his opponent was a tall, gaunt young man with a cold smile on his face.

His cultivation base was extraordinary, in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation. His eyes flashed like lightning, and overall, he seemed like the type of person who was not to be trifled with.

"Well Junior Brother," the gaunt young man said, his voice cold, "you have the bad luck to have run into me in the first round. It's not too late to concede. If you don't, you'll have to take responsibility for yourself if you get injured."

However, in the instant that the words left the young man's mouth, Naruto suddenly let out a powerful roar.

The roar was so intense that everything shook, and quite a few audience members were shocked. The gaunt young man was also taken aback, and even backed up a bit without even thinking about it, staring at Naruto with wide eyes.

After roaring, Naruto slapped his jade pendant, causing a green glow to surround him. That didn't leave him feeling safe, though, so he pulled out a big stack of paper talismans, which he rapidly stuck all over himself. Each time he did, they would emit a powerful glow, until he was covered with no less than ten individual shields. Their combined power transformed into a protective wall nearly a meter-and-a-half thick. From a distance, the sight was completely shocking.

Because of all the protective shields, Naruto's subsequent shout was actually a bit muffled.

"Alright, bring it on!"

The gaunt young man was still staring blankly at Naruto, and it wasn't just him. The other Outer Sect disciples, including the other contestants, were all gaping in shock. In all the times they had observed competitions like this, they had never seen anyone use protective shields to such an extent.

Taruho's face twitched, but from the look in his eyes, it was clear he could do nothing about the situation.

Tokuma took a deep breath as he grew even more certain that Naruto and Taruho were actually relatives. However, Ryuzetsu simply gave a cold harrumph, and her derision increased.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as the gaunt young man down in the arena let out his own roar, then performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a wooden sword to fly directly toward Naruto.


	7. Chapter 7

The gaunt young man's wooden sword pulsed with a strange energy, streaking through the air in a prismatic beam, directly toward Naruto. However, before it could even get close, a pinging sound rang out from the exterior of Naruto's thick meter-and-a-half shield as the wooden sword bounced off of it.

As soon as Naruto's protective shields flickered, his eyes glittered, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Clearing his throat, he actually just sat down cross-legged.

The audience exchanged confused glances. They weren't really sure what to say in response to Naruto and his extreme level of defense. They had seen people who focused on defense before, but... had never seen anyone who shielded himself this much.

As for his opponent, the young man's face first flushed, then went pale. Gritting his teeth, he roared, sending his flying sword shooting toward the glowing shields, ratcheting up in power even as it shot through the air.

A pinging sound rang out as the flying sword flew in again and again, but each time, it was sent spinning away. Finally, the pale-faced young man's spiritual energy was more than half depleted, and a look of despair appeared on his face.

He had been fighting in duels for years, but this was the first time he had encountered an opponent who hid like a turtle in a shell. However, he wasn't willing to give in yet. He had joined the competition with the express purpose of taking 3rd place. Staring at Naruto with bloodshot eyes, he furiously roared, "Get out from behind that shield!"

Naruto wasn't scared at all by this young man, so he didn't have any reservations about staying behind the shield and shouting, "If you're good enough, why don't you come on inside!"

Strange expressions appeared on the faces of everyone in the audience as they looked at Naruto, not sure whether to laugh or cry. The gaunt young man was so angry that blue veins popped out on his forehead as he clenched his jaw. Finally, he bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. When it landed on his wooden sword, the entire thing turned the color of blood.

Discussion immediately broke out in the audience.

"Blood Spirit Magic!"

"For him to use that magical technique shows that he really has been driven to madness!"

The blood-colored wooden sword moved even faster than before, and emitted double the pressure. Blood-colored light spread out in all directions as it shot toward Naruto.

A boom rang out as the wooden sword pierced a full three inches into the shield. Rumbling could be heard as it tried to pierce further, but failed. In fact, because too much force was being exerted, cracks began to spread out over the sword.

A moment later, a pop could be heard as the entire wooden sword... shattered into pieces, which slowly floated down to the ground.

The gaunt young man's eyes went wide, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. His spiritual energy was vastly depleted, his magical item destroyed, and he was so furious simply passed out.

As Taruho watched the scene playing out, his face grew increasingly unsightly. Chuckling wryly, Elder Iruka stepped forward, signalled for people to come carry the gaunt young man away, and then declared Naruto the winner.

"Ah, he let me win!" Naruto said as the shield light around him faded away. Looking very solemn, he puffed his chest out and clasped his hands behind his back, looking every bit like a Chosen. As for the gaunt young man, as he was being carried off, he apparently heard Naruto's words, regained consciousness, coughed up another mouthful of blood, and then passed out again.

Clearing his throat, Naruto turned to Elder Iruka and clasped hands. Then he flicked his sleeve and walked out of the arena.

The Outer Sect disciples who had come to watch the competition took everything in fairly well. At most, they had strange looks on their faces. As for the contestants, they were looking at Naruto with very unsightly expressions.

That was especially true of the people who had already won their respective matches. When they compared the gaunt young man's current condition with Naruto, they couldn't help but feel the need to be on guard.

The competition continued, and soon the rest of the matches were completed. Of the original twenty participants, half had been eliminated to produce the current top 10.

That included Ryuzetsu, Tokuma, and Naruto, who stood there, chin stuck up, looking around at his fellow top 10 competitors. Inwardly, he was saying, "All I have to do is win one more match and then I'll have succeeded!"

Seeing hope right there in front of him, he felt quite excited.

Elder Iruka looked over the ten contestants, his gaze lingering on Naruto for a moment before saying, "The top 5 will now be selected. Would the ten of you please step forward to select your marbles."

This time, Naruto scrambled to be first in line, and pulled out a marble with the number two written on it. Afterward, he immediately turned to study his fellow competitors.

It didn't take long for everyone to draw a marble, after which Elder Iruka announced that the first two fighters were to begin their match. Naruto was joined by a burly, muscular man who, upon seeing who he was fighting, began to laugh loudly.

"Other people might fear your defenses, but I don't care at all about them. I'm also adept with defense, so let's just wait and see which of us two can hold out for longer!" Laughing, the man slapped his bag of holding to produce a small buckler. After imbuing it with some spiritual energy, the buckler grew larger and began to emit a yellow glow which completely surrounded the man.

The man wasn't done yet, though. Roaring, his flesh and muscles expanded, and he even grew a few inches taller. The entire scene was quite shocking.

"I can't believe it's Body Forging Magic!"

"That buckler looks familiar. Don't tell me it's a Dawnlight Buckler! That things costs 9,000 merit points!" Everyone was shocked, and as for Naruto, his brow was furrowed.

When Elder Iruka saw what was happening, he nodded his head slightly, eyes shining with a look of praise. Turning to Taruho, he said, "This kid is Taru Shan, fifth level of Chakra Condensation. He'll be a difficult opponent, as he was born with godly power, plus cultivates the Body Forging Magic. Not only is he incredibly strong, he also excels in defense."

Taruho nodded slightly, then looked over at Naruto.

Naruto was studying the burly man's transformed body, and the shield he had. He recognized the shield from his visit to the Treasure Pavilion, and although he wasn't sure exactly how many merit points it cost, his frown deepened.

Everyone watching the competition seemed very interested to find out what was going to happen, especially the other disciples in the competition, who were clearly pleased to gloat in the misfortune of others.

"That fair-skinned disciple sure got unlucky."

"Well, he got super lucky before, that's all. Now that he's facing a powerful opponent like this, he'll naturally get beaten back into place."

As the audience discussed the developments, the burly man smiled viciously and then began to stride rapidly toward Naruto.

"There's nothing you can do. I beat the last disciple I fought without even drawing a weapon. My fist is the most powerful magical technique I have!"

The man sped up, causing a wind to blast out. As he closed in, Naruto's eyes glittered and he suddenly waved his finger, causing his little wooden sword to fly out from his bag of holding.

Without the slightest pause, it shot out in front of Naruto toward the burly man.

As it slashed toward him, sword Chakra built up for dozens of meters around the sword, causing rumbling sounds to echo out.

The burly man's face fell, and his scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. His eyes widened as an intense sensation of crisis washed through him. Without the slightest hesitation, he fell into retreat. Roaring, he waved both hands, sending his buckler out to block the sword.

A boom rang out as the wooden sword and the little buckler slammed into each other. However, the buckler didn't do anything to even slow down the wooden sword. It was blasted apart, and the wooden sword continued on toward the burly man.

The man's face was filled with shock; even if he were capable of dodging faster, it would do no good. The flying sword was on him in the blink of an eye, causing an icy wind to buffet his face.

"I concede!" he shouted without hesitation, his voice rising by a few octaves as he fell to the ground.

A buzzing sound could be heard as the wooden sword stopped just in front of the man's forehead, then turned and flew back into Naruto's bag of holding.

Naruto blinked, also somewhat shocked by the wooden sword. Before, he had only practiced with it, and had no idea it was so powerful. And that was before he even began to utilize Lightness-in-Heaviness.

After looking up in thought for a moment, he stuck his chin up, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked coolly at the burly man.

The man's face was pale white, and yet he still didn't seem to want to back down. Crawling to his feet, he glared at Naruto and said, "Using the power of magical items doesn't count as winning! I don't accept this as being a defeat!"

With that, the man turned and stalked out of the arena.

Elder Iruka looked over at Naruto, also astonished by the power of the wooden sword. However, he didn't say anything other to announce that Naruto was the victor.

"Hahaha," Naruto laughed to himself. "In the next battle I'll just instantly concede. I became a cultivator to live forever, right? All this killing and fighting is too barbaric. That's not how Naruto does things." Naruto left the arena, feeling wonderful at having complied with Taruho's requirement to get into the top 5.

Taruho's eyes had also come to rest on Naruto. Although everyone else had been focused on how incredible the flying sword was, Taruho hadn't been paying attention to that at all. He had been watching the skill and ease with which Naruto controlled the flying sword.

Seeing that Naruto had won another match, the crowd began to sigh emotionally.

"Ah, this guy must be rich, that's why he has such an incredible wooden sword. Hmph. If he had any other weapon he definitely couldn't have won!"

"Magical devices have nothing to do with your cultivation. First he used those amulets, then that sword. What a waste! He's definitely going to go broke eventually."

The grumblings didn't last for long though. The next battle soon got underway. Ryuzetsu was fighting an opponent with an extraordinary cultivation base. It was a fierce fight, but Ryuzetsu didn't use her banner. Instead, she utilized a flying sword. They fought back and forth in dazzling fashion until suddenly, Ryuzetsu's flying sword shot forward with incredible speed to appear directly in front of her opponent.

Such speed vastly surpassed that which ordinary disciples could control, sending the audience into an uproar when people realized what they were seeing.

"I can't believe it's Lightness-in-Heaviness!"

"Ryuzetsu has actually reached enlightenment of that stage..."

"It's Lightness-in-Heaviness!" Deep within Elder Iruka's eyes, the glitter of approval could be seen as he looked at Ryuzetsu.

Taruho also nodded.

Tokuma was shocked, and most everyone else who had made it into the top 10 had similar reactions. As for her opponent, he chuckled bitterly and clasped hands to concede.

Ryuzetsu stood there in the arena, looking around proudly. Clasping hands toward Taruho and Elder Iruka, she left the arena.

The crowd was still in an uproar.

However, Naruto was left standing there, blinking.

"That level of speed counts as Lightness-in-Heaviness?" he thought, astonished.

As Ryuzetsu proudly left the arena, slight drops of sweat could be seen running down her face. Despite being in the great circle of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation, fighting two successive battles was quite a drain on her spiritual energy. That was especially true of the battle just now, in which her opponent had possessed unusual battle prowess. In the end, she had been forced to unleash her magic of Lightness-in-Heaviness, which was an even bigger drain on her spiritual energy. That was how she had secured victory.

Her goal was 1st place, and she knew that subsequent opponents would only be more powerful. Because this particular sect competition wasn't very strictly organized, she wouldn't have much time to rest before the next fight. Therefore, she immediately pulled out a medicinal pill, which she consumed, then closed her eyes and began to take advantage of the time to recover.

The top 5 now consisted of Naruto and Ryuzetsu, as well as Tokuma. In the end, there were two other young men, both of whom had profound cultivation bases in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation.

Currently, everyone was in the process of rotating their cultivation bases, taking advantage of every opportunity to replenish some spiritual energy.

Only Naruto didn't seem to have spent any spiritual energy at all. In fact, he even stood off to the side yawning. When everyone else who had been eliminated from the competition saw that, it left them with the urge to beat him.

Now that he had fulfilled Taruho's demand to get into the top 5, he didn't care at all about the rest of the competition.

Trying to suppress his boredom, he looked over at the other four top 5 competitors, especially Ryuzetsu, musing that if the speed she had just unleashed counted as Lightness-in-Heaviness, then he was surely far, far beyond that.

"It's too bad she has such an extremely murderous aura. Why would a good girl like that be so into fighting and killing? Don't tell me that all girls who practice Immortal cultivation are weirdos like this? Kurenai is super proud, and Amaru is way too moody." Naruto shook his head. He was just about to look away from Ryuzetsu when she seemed to sense that he was looking at her. Her eyes suddenly snapped open to stare at him coldly.

As far as Ryuzetsu was concerned, Naruto wasn't even worth thinking about. After watching his first two battles, she was of the opinion that he had pulled off lucky wins, which caused the derision in her heart to grow stronger.

"Well well, you dare to stare at me, do you?!" Naruto immediately ceased any motion of looking away. Instead, his eyes went wide as he glared right back at Ryuzetsu. Staring contests didn't have anything to do with fighting and bloodshed, so from a young age, he had met few people who could overcome him.

Ryuzetsu frowned. As for the admirers who clustered behind her, they were very irritated, and cast ferocious glares in his direction.

However, seeing so many eyes staring at him, and considering that quite a few of them were extremely fierce, Naruto cleared his throat. He only had two eyes, so how could he possibly match up? "Well, they have numbers on their side, and besides, true men don't fight with girls."

With a harrumph, he looked away.

About that time, Elder Iruka's voice rang out across the arena.

"Very good, all of you. This competition has gone very well so far. And now, we will continue to narrow down the competitors. Would the five of you please step forward and select a marble. One of those marbles is a free pass into the top 3." Smiling, Elder Iruka produced the bag again.

This time, Tokuma was first. After pulling out the marble, he frowned; his marble had the number four written on it.

Ryuzetsu was next, who got the number two marble. The other two Outer Sect disciple got numbers one and three respectively.

Naruto didn't even need to draw a marble; the remaining marble was the free pass.

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he chuckled. He took his place outside of the fighting arena, arms folded, feeling completely relaxed as he prepared to watch Ryuzetsu and all the others. He hadn't even planned to continue on the with the competition, but now he didn't have to do anything and he was already in the top 3.

"Luck is a big part of strength!" he thought, feeling quite pleased with himself.

That very luck caused quite a few audience members to stare at him with even stranger expressions on their faces. Most of them really couldn't bear to accept the situation, especially the other disciples who had been eliminated, whose hearts were filled with jealousy and envy.

"This guy is totally shameless. Alright, fine, he used a magical item to get into the top five, but then he actually got a free pass into the top three!"

"How despicable. In fact, there's never been someone as despicable as this to ever show up in the competitions."

It wasn't just the audience. Even Ryuzetsu was feeling a bit jealous of how lucky Naruto had gotten. It was the same with Tokuma. The other four people who had reached the top 5 had all spend a lot of energy already. If they had managed to get the blank marble, it would have given them a bit of breathing room to rest, which would have been an immense advantage during the rest of the fighting.

Elder Iruka looked at Naruto and smiled, whereas Taruho's expression remained the same as before.

Naruto looked on excitedly as the next round of fighting began. Ryuzetsu's opponent was a fierce disciple who frequently left the sect on missions to slay wild beasts, and was the type of person who was used to seeing a lot of bloodshed. On the other hand, Ryuzetsu's skill with Lightness-in-Heaviness was quite fear-inspiring. Not only did it provide her with powerful defensive capabilities, but she was also able to move with incredible speed.

The audience was completely focused on the match, and occasional 'oohs' and 'ahs' could be heard. Both fighters were clearly in danger of being injured, and yet... there happened to be a certain voice calling out, taking the lead in the cheering.

"Whoah! Nice sword move!

"Look at that reverse Dragon Tail attack! Oh no! Look behind you! Quick, look behind you!

"Rah rah rah!" Naruto was really getting sucked into watching the fight, to the point where he even started applauding at key points. It wasn't an act either; he really was impressed by Ryuzetsu's performance, and by now, had forgotten that he was actually one of the competitors.

When Elder Iruka saw what was happening, he coughed dryly. Taruho's face was completely expressionless, but inwardly all he could do was shrug his shoulders. After all, Naruto had already accomplished the assigned task.

Facing such a powerful opponent, Ryuzetsu had no time for distractions. She focused completely for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and after using Lightness-in-Heaviness three times, she finally secured victory.

However, she ended up exhausting over half of her spiritual energy. Sweating, she was just about to walk out of the arena to rest up a bit, when she heard Naruto cheering her on. Then she thought about how incredibly difficult it had been for her to get into the top 3, whereas Naruto had done it without any effort at all. Irritation rose up in her heart, and she wished she could simply blast him with a powerful attack right then and there.

When Naruto noticed that Ryuzetsu was glaring at him angrily, he blinked a few times, feeling a bit offended. Then he glared back at her, which seemed to push Ryuzetsu to the point where she almost couldn't restrain herself from attacking.

Tokuma's next fight went a bit smoother. However, he still fought for about the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, and wasted quite a bit of spiritual energy.

He was also feeling quite envious of Naruto.

"We now have a top 3. All three of you are Outer Sect... celebrities." Elder Iruka cleared his throat. "Please come to determine the fighting order. This time, the number three marble counts as the blank marble. Whoever picks it will advance directly to the final match." Elder Iruka waved his hand, causing the bag to appear once again.

Tokuma was the first in line this time, and when he pulled out the marble and saw the number 'two' written on it, he sighed and stepped off to the side.

Ryuzetsu took a deep breath as she stepped forward. But then she stopped in place and turned icily to Naruto.

"You go first!" she said coldly.

Naruto, who had been watching the exciting fights this entire time, didn't refuse. He reached into the bag as Ryuzetsu looked on with an icy expression. It wasn't just her that was waiting to see what would happen, all eyes in the audience were fixed upon Naruto.

Even Elder Iruka and Taruho were craning their necks.

Being the focus of attention in this way caused Naruto to feel a bit embarrassed. Actually, he didn't even really care which marble he pulled out, and yet when he finally did remove his hand, his eyes went wide with shock.

Number three.

Naruto looked back at Ryuzetsu, coughed dryly, and said, "Um, hey, you asked me to go first."

Eyes gleaming ferociously, Ryuzetsu clenched her hands into fist and stared murderously at Naruto. Her chest rose as she took a deep breath; she seemed to be on the verge of exploding.

Tokuma's eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. The idea of someone being so incredibly lucky simply exceeded his imagination. Yet again... Naruto would skip an entire match.

When the surrounding disciples saw the marble in Naruto's hands, they couldn't restrain themselves. Instantly, a huge commotion broke out.

"He advances automatically again! His name is Naruto, right? How... how could he be so lucky!? He got the blank marble twice in a row!"

"How shameless of this guy! He hasn't done anything, and yet has made it all the way to the final match..."

"How could a guy like that make it to the finals? Dammit, if I was as lucky as that, I could do the same thing!" Everyone was in an uproar, and the people who had been eliminated from the competition earlier seemed especially envious.

Elder Iruka hesitated for a moment and then looked over at Taruho. Taruho let out a long sigh; he had to admit that Naruto really had gotten lucky.

In Naruto's mind, there was no reason for the crowd to react in such a way. Smiling awkwardly, he hurried out of the arena, standing outside with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Ai. I was planning to concede anyway..." he thought, looking incredulously at the marble in his hand.

Ryuzetsu took a deep breath to suppress her extreme irritation. Gritting her teeth, she looked at Tokuma, simultaneously settling her Chakra and clearing her mind. She had done her homework on Tokuma, and knew that he was a very powerful opponent.

Tokuma smiled bitterly, taking a deep breath as he gazed back at Ryuzetsu.

After staring off for a few breaths of time, they sprang into action. Almost instantly, booms and bangs began to ring out. This was actually the most spectacular fight in the entire competition so far. Tokuma erupted with his full power, going to the lengths of throwing out some seeds, which he then catalyzed into full-grown plants with attack powers. When Naruto saw him use his skill in plants and vegetation in such a way, his eyes glittered.

As for Ryuzetsu, she used Lightness-in-Heaviness to send her flying sword whistling through the air. After they had fought for a bit, she then produced a wooden sword, which swirled about in conjunction with the ordinary flying sword, turning the battlefield into an even more spectacular scene than before.

The two of them couldn't keep using their trump cards for very long, and were rapidly running out of spiritual energy. The fighting only continued to grow more bitter.

Naruto was watching excitedly, whooping and hollering the entire time.

The battle went on for about an hour, until a massive boom rang out as Ryuzetsu pushed the wooden sword so hard that it exploded. The resulting fragments were then propelled by Lightness-in-Heaviness in a huge attack that Tokuma simply couldn't dodge. He was forced into retreat and ended up drawing on all of his spiritual energy. Finally, he sighed and conceded.

The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were quite impressed by the intense battle, and their eyes gleamed with admiration as they gazed at Ryuzetsu. They were now fully convinced of how amazing she was. As for Tokuma, his reputation also improved because of the fight.

Even though he had lost, he was sure to become even more famous in the days to come.

Elder Iruka seemed quite pleased, and was even considering taking Ryuzetsu on as a personal apprentice.

At the same time, no matter how the competition ended, Naruto's name was also sure to spread...

The moment Tokuma called out that he conceded, Ryuzetsu slumped in place in the middle of the arena, her face pale. She was swaying back and forth in exhaustion, her spiritual energy almost completely depleted. Taking a deep breath, she produced some medicinal pills which she instantly consumed. However, she knew that the pills would only replenish so much, and she could only recover completely by sitting cross-legged in meditation for several hours. After all, she had just fought four battles in a row.

However, according to the rules of this type of competition, the disciples were not given very much time for rest. After all, it was only a small-scale competition.

"Naruto, get out here!" Ryuzetsu said through gritted teeth. Her eyes gleamed with a ferocious light as she looked at Naruto standing outside of the arena. She wanted to take advantage of the little bit of spiritual energy she had to defeat this damnable Naruto, who had gotten into the final match only by pure luck.

As soon as the words left Ryuzetsu's mouth, everyone in the audience turned to look at Naruto, eager to gloat in his misfortune. In their minds, even if Ryuzetsu was bone tired, Naruto had only achieved victory by random chance, and she would be able to defeat him easily no matter the circumstances.

Naruto blinked a few times, then looked at Ryuzetsu standing there unsteadily, and suddenly realized that he... could actually take 1st place.

"This is the time for Naruto to finally become super famous. Once I go out there and use my Lightness-in-Heaviness, then everyone is going to be completely shocked." Puffing his chest out proudly, he strode into the arena, envisioning the scene of everyone reacting in shock to his win.

However, the instant his foot touched down, Ryuzetsu's eyes flickered coldly, and she suddenly performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. Instantly, her flying sword shot toward Naruto.

A brutal air emanated off of the flying sword, sending intense coldness out in all directions. Clearly this one attack was backed by all of the spiritual energy Ryuzetsu could muster, causing the sword to emanate incredible pressure.

Even more shocking was that Ryuzetsu flew into the air behind the sword, almost as if she were about to merge with it and become one.

A boom rang out as the sword accelerated toward Naruto with shocking speed, a speed that vastly exceeded the speed she had used when fighting Tokuma. A piercing whistling sound echoed out as it became a prismatic beam that bore down on Naruto.

Everyone watching was completely shocked by the sword move, and began to cry out in shock.

"Solitary Sword, Flying Immortal!"

"I can't believe Elder Sister Ryuzetsu is actually using that sword incantation!"

Elder Iruka's eyes gleamed brightly, and Taruho nodded. Both of them could tell that Ryuzetsu had actually never successfully pulled off this sword incantation. However, at this point in the battle, when her spiritual energy was virtually depleted, she managed to succeed. Using her last bit of energy, she just barely managed to unleash the sword incantation.

"By putting everything on the line, she gained enlightenment of the sword incantation," Taruho said, eyes gleaming with admiration. "This Ryuzetsu isn't bad. She actually seems more suited to the cultivation of Green Crest Peak."

All of the Outer Sect disciples were completely shaken. Everything seemed to turn into a blur, except for Ryuzetsu and her flying sword, which merged together into a picture of perfect clarity.

The sword whistled through the air, followed by the sword wielder, becoming a powerful attack. Ryuzetsu looked exhausted, but her eyes gleamed with a sharp light. She was extremely confident that this sword move would secure her the victory.

In almost the exact same instant that the flying sword and Ryuzetsu closed in on Naruto, Naruto's pupils constricted. Rumbling sounds then echoed out as all of his numerous defensive assets erupted out layer by layer, including the jade pendant and all the amulets. At the same time, he flew backward at top speed.

The flying sword was clearly not an ordinary object, and it quickly began to pierce through the shields. It stabbed through layer after layer, collapsing all the defensive shields until it actually reached Naruto himself.

However, by that point, it didn't seem to have much energy left. Before it could actually stab into him, it got stuck. Even as he flew backward, the sword keeping pace, it was possible to see the layers of leather clothing he was wearing.

When the audience realized this, their jaws dropped, and they gasped.

"N-Naruto... has so many defenses!"

"How terrified of dying is this guy? Is it really worth it? He actually used magical items and talismans for a little competition like this? And on top of all that he wore leather armor!?"

Ryuzetsu's face was pale white as she watched Naruto running away like a rabbit whose tail had just been stepped on. Not only was he moving with incredible speed, her sword was still stuck in his clothing. Gritting her teeth, she performed an incantation gesture and pointed out in an attempt to drag the flying sword back to her. However, she had so little spiritual energy that all she could do was make it tremble a bit.

She tried one last time, but even as she tried to circulate her spiritual energy, blood began to ooze out of the corners of her mouth, and she staggered backward several paces, where she stood unsteadily for a moment before dropping down to sit on the ground. Her face was deathly pale, and her spiritual energy was completely drained.

In her heart, she felt that it was a big injustice. She had struggled so hard to get into the top 2, whereas Naruto had done almost nothing. In fact, he hadn't even used any of his spiritual energy. Her irritation quickly turned into rage; gritted her teeth, she stared murderously at Naruto, wishing she could kill him several times over. In fact, if she had the energy, she would go over and bite him.

Naruto took a deep breath as he sped backward in retreat; he had never imagined that Ryuzetsu would actually use a move like the one she had.

Unexpectedly, all of his defenses had been pierced.

"Fudge, it's a good thing I was thinking straight and put on eight leather jackets." He looked down at the flying sword sticking into his shoulder. It was now completely devoid of any energy, and was stuck fast within all the layers of leather. By the time it actually reached his skin, it had nothing left to push it any further.

Furthermore, thanks to his Undying Skin, when it actually touched him, it didn't even match up to a mosquito bite.

Fear lingering in his heart, Naruto eyed the sword and then carefully pulled it out. Then he glanced over at Ryuzetsu, who was sitting there gasping for breath.

"Elder Sister, you really shouldn't throw your treasures around like this. Do you want this sword or not? If you don't want it, then I'll take it." Looking extremely pleased, he put the flying sword into his bag of holding, then took out his own little wooden sword. Just as he was about to launch an attack, people in the crowd began to cry out in alarm.

Seeing Naruto take her flying sword caused Ryuzetsu's eyes to be shot with blood.

"You..." she said. Just as she was about to flip out completely, she passed out.

She was the second person in the competition to faint because of Naruto.

"Eee? What did you go and faint for?" Naruto looked at the unconscious Ryuzetsu, and then back at his little wooden sword. Finally, he shrugged.


	8. Chapter 8

The surrounding Outer Sect disciples, especially the ones who had been eliminated from the competition early on, glared at Naruto angrily. Many people even began to shout out.

"Shameless! You're completely shameless, Naruto!"

"Winning that way doesn't count and we all know it!"

"Disqualify him!"

Everyone joined together in their rage, causing Naruto to instantly grow jumpy with fear. He also realized that showing off his Lightness-in-Heaviness ability wouldn't abate the crowd's fury, and in fact, could potentially lead to worse consequences, and cause them to call him even more shameless... Instead, he turned to look at Elder Iruka.

"Elder Iruka, I got 1st place, right? Could you go ahead and announce it?"

Elder Iruka smiled wryly in response. As for Taruho, he sighed; how could he ever have imagined that requiring Naruto join the competition would result in him taking 1st place?

Elder Iruka shook his head and chuckled. "Uh... well I guess I might as well. Naruto has taken 1st place in the competition!"

In response, everyone stared furiously at Naruto.

Naruto was of the opinion that he was actually pretty powerful, but considering how many people there were… his heart began to prickle with fear. Just when he was about step out of the arena and leave this dangerous location, Ryuzetsu, with the help of some bystanders, regained consciousness and sat back up. Panting, she glared angrily at Naruto, gritted her teeth, and then cried, "Naruto, I refuse to admit defeat!

"You might have taken 1st place, but that's only because I let you have it. And that doesn't change how much I hate you. Do you dare to have another fight!?"

Naruto gave a sarcastic chuckle and kept walking. In his mind, he would be crazy to fight with this deranged woman again. Besides, what would happen if she passed out again?

"I won't fight you with magic," she continued. "Besides, as Outer Sect disciples, we're both apprentice apothecaries of Fragrant Cloud Peak. Why don't we compete in skill with plants and vegetation?!" Ryuzetsu glared at Naruto the entire time, and when she spoke, her words were spoken slowly and decisively.

"If you win, you can keep that Pinewood Sword of mine. But if you don't agree, then you'll regret it!"

Naruto stopped walking. Having heard skill with plants and vegetation mentioned, he couldn't help but turn his head to look back at Ryuzetsu.

Seeing that Naruto had stopped and was apparently hesitating, she resisted the impulse to unleash a savage attack, and quickly continued, "Naruto, if you can defeat me in terms of skill with plants and vegetation, then you can even have this Cloudsoaring Incense!" With that, she produced a stick of bluish-purple incense.

As soon as the incense appeared, it began to pulse with spiritual energy, and the surrounding Outer Sect disciples' eyes instantly gleamed with envy.

"A tier-1 spirit medicine! Cloudsoaring Incense... it's a really remarkable tier-1 spirit medicine. Definitely very expensive, and useful for anyone under the seventh level of Chakra Condensation!"

"Ryuzetsu must have spent a lot of merit points on that in preparation for breaking out of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation..."

"Elder Sister Ryuzetsu's skill with plants and vegetation got her into the top 20 of the first three stone steles outside the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. Naruto is definitely going to lose!"

Naruto instantly recognized the Cloudsoaring Incense, which he had read about when studying the introduction to cloudsoaring grass in the third volume of plants and vegetation. He was instantly moved, and that was even before he heard everyone mention that Ryuzetsu was only in the top 20 on the stones steles, after which his eyes gleamed.

Taking a few steps back, he stammered, "Y-you're... you're really in the top 20 on the stone steles of plants and vegetation?"

He actually just wanted to confirm that what he had overheard just now was true.

"Are you going to compete or not!?" Ryuzetsu said through gritted teeth.

"But I've only studied the first three volumes..." he said hesitantly.

"That's what I'm talking about! Compete with me in the first three volumes! Come on, I dare you!" Ryuzetsu was so angry she felt like she was about to explode.

"Fine… I'll compete!" he said. "Happy?" Although he looked as though he wanted to cry, inwardly, his heart was blooming with flowers of joy. He couldn't help but think that this girl really was a bit dim-witted.

As soon as the crowd heard Naruto's words, they began to boo and heckle him. Ryuzetsu took a deep breath, sucking in quite a bit of spiritual energy, which stabilized her a bit. Glaring angrily at Naruto, she stalked forward to Elder Iruka, then clasped hands and bowed.

"Elder, Disciple Ryuzetsu requests that you bear official witness to a battle of plants and vegetation between myself and Naruto."

Elder Iruka's opinion of Ryuzetsu was increasing by the moment. He stroked his beard for a moment before smiling and saying, "Very well. I shall bear witness. However, since we are speaking of skill with plants and vegetation, perhaps it would be better for the peak lord to decide the nature of the challenges."

He looked over at Taruho. Taruho looked deeply at Naruto for a moment, then nodded.

The surrounding disciples were now quite excited, as was Ryuzetsu, who turned to Taruho, clasped hands and bowed.

Naruto was also very pleased that he wouldn't have to engage in any dangerous fighting to make a name for himself. He stood there, no longer looking like he was about to cry, but rather, chin stuck up, looking arrogantly out at the crowd in the same way a Chosen would. Ryuzetsu snorted coldly.

At this point, Taruho glanced at Naruto and Ryuzetsu, then began to speak, his voice cool, "The Dao of plants and vegetation is unpredictable. Although we will limit things to the first three volumes, those volumes contain numerous variables. Today I will present you with two challenges. We shall see which of the two of you can secure victory." With that, he tapped his bag of holding and produced two seeds.

"These two flower seeds can be catalyzed with spiritual energy. The level of your skill with plants and vegetation will determine how many spirit flowers bloom. This is how we will decide the winner of the first round." Taruho waved his hand, sending the two seeds flying to Naruto and Ryuzetsu respectively.

Ryuzetsu caught the seed without any hesitation. At the same time, Taruho sent a medicinal pill flying her way, which she also caught, a look of shock appearing on her face.

"Take that pill to restore your cultivation base," Taruho said calmly. Ryuzetsu's face lit up. After expressing her thanks, she consumed the pill. After a few breaths of time passed, she trembled, and her eyes began to shine brightly; her cultivation base had been completely restored.

Naruto wasn't very happy with that, but he didn't dare to say anything. Instead, he looked down at the spirit seed lying in his palm, and began to study it closely.

"Don't recognize it?" Ryuzetsu said, sneering. "Well I can tell you that it's a bluespirit thistle seed." With that, she completely ignored Naruto, closing her eyes and circulating her spiritual energy, which she then poured into the seed in her hand.

Almost immediately, an emerald green sprout climbed up from the seed. It grew rapidly until it was about one-third of a meter tall. Then, it bloomed with a blue spirit flower, and began to grow even taller.

Naruto looked over at what was happening, and then turned his attention back to the seed, which he continued to study thoughtfully.

Taruho was watching Naruto the whole time, and soon, a virtually undetectable flicker of surprise could be seen deep in his eyes.

While Naruto stood there thinking, all of the surrounding Outer Sect disciples were watching Ryuzetsu. The plant in her hand was two thirds of a meter tall, and already had a second flower.

By the time Naruto sent some spiritual energy into the seed, Ryuzetsu's spirit plant had already already sprouted with three flowers. Naruto didn't maintain a steady flow of spiritual energy, but rather, sent it into the seed in fits and bursts. In fact, when the seed sprouted, he even blew the first few sprouts away with a breath of air.

After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Ryuzetsu's face was ashen, and she was gritting her teeth. With her final bit of energy, she caused a sixth blue flower to sprout, after which she breathed a sigh of relief. Placing the plant down next to her, she clasped hands and bowed to Taruho.

Taruho nodded. "Six spirit flowers, all of them superior-grade. Nice job."

Feeling very pleased with herself, Ryuzetsu looked over at Naruto. When she saw that his spirit plant wasn't even one third of a meter tall yet, her sneer widened.

The surrounding outer Sect disciples were getting very excited.

"Elder Sister Ryuzetsu definitely deserves her reputation. That bluespirit thistle bloomed with six flowers. That's incredible! Naruto hasn't even caused one flower to bloom. He's completely good for nothing."

"A competition of plant catalysis first involves studying the seed, and then using unique catalysis methods to cause it to grow. In that regard, Elder Sister Ryuzetsu is really at the head of the pack."

In the middle of all the conversations, Naruto's spirit plant gradually reached a height of one third of a meter. Next, a somewhat shrivelled blue flower appeared. Compared to Ryuzetsu's flowers, it looked rather malnourished, and even elicited some laughs from the crowd. But then, all of a sudden, a second blue flower appeared on the short plant. Next was a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh...

In the space of a few breaths, Naruto's spirit plant bloomed with nine flowers!

This instantly led to widespread shock and disbelief.

Ryuzetsu was staring at what to her was a completely unimaginable scene. "Bluespirit thistle blooms with one flower every third meter. How could this plant have nine flowers when it's only a third of a meter tall!"

However, things weren't over yet. Even as the nine small blue flowers appeared, Naruto closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then suddenly exhaled sharply. That one breath contained spiritual energy which settled onto the nine flowers and, in the blink of an eye, caused them to begin to shiver and change colors. No longer were they blue, but rather, indigo!

Indigo starts out as blue, but its color is deeper and more profound!

As soon as people realized what was happening, their eyes went wide with astonishment.

"That's... that's not a bluespirit thistle!"

"Indigospirit thistle! It's indigospirit thistle, the seed of which is very difficult to distinguish from that of the bluespirit thistle! In fact, if you use the catalysis method for bluespirit thistle in indigospirit thistle, you'll actually produce a bluespirit thistle, except you'll have wasted the seed!"

Everyone was shocked, and were starting at Naruto in disbelief.

Naruto opened his eyes, then placed the indigospirit thistle off to the side. Chuckling sarcastically, he clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Ryuzetsu.

His skill with plants and vegetation had already reached an indescribable level. After studying the seed for a while, he had noticed the differences, and was easily able to tell what type of seed it was.

Ryuzetsu's face flickered; to her, it felt as if someone had just slapped her across the face. She staggered backward a few steps, looking first at her bluespirit thistle and then at Naruto's indigospirit thistle. Suddenly, her face flushed with heat. Earlier, she had berated Naruto for his lack of knowledge, but then, moments later, he had proven definitively that she had wasted the seed.

"This Naruto is definitely extremely lucky," she thought, grinding her teeth. "I assumed it was a bluespirit thistle, and he guessed that it was an indigospirit thistle. Well, that was just a lucky chance on his part, not him actually identifying the seed!"

"Naruto takes the first round," Taruho said coolly. "That truly was the seed of an indigospirit thistle, not a bluespirit thistle. They look similar, but some of the veins grow differently. Without studying it down to the finest detail, it's easy to confuse them." Looking over at Naruto, he waved his hand again, causing a spirit plant to appear.

It was a very unique, with four colors, and nine leaves of different shapes. It also had two flowers on it, one black and one white. The flowers almost seemed in sentient, as they were constantly struggling with each other, as if they wanted to suppress each other. Although the plant seemed like one single plant, if you looked closely you would see the signs that it had been grafted together.

"The first round was dedicated to catalysis. As for the second round, it will focus on identification. This particular spirit plant has been grafted together from numerous other plants. Whichever of you can correctly guess the greatest number of graft materials... will be the winner."

Taruho sent the grafted plant floating out in front of him, then looked over at Naruto. Considering he had brought Naruto into the sect, he was very curious to see what other surprising things he could do.

Ryuzetsu gritted her teeth. In her mind, she had just been careless moments ago. Now, she was unprecedentedly focused. Taking out a jade slip, she walked up to the spirit plant.

Naruto's eyes gleamed with interest as he also stepped forward and began to examine the plant, occasionally making notations in a jade slip. A moment later, Ryuzetsu stepped back, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Then she looked over at Naruto with a grim expression on her face. She had identified eight types of plants. The others were types she didn't recognize.

However, Naruto wasn't finished. His eyes were glowing even more brightly as he buzzed around the plant in circles. Occasionally he even cried out in surprise, as if he had just noticed something very interesting.

"Wow, you can do that!?

"Well this... this is very interesting!"

The crowd looked on silently. None of them believed that Naruto could identify any of the plants, and in fact, most of them were convinced that the reason he had catalyzed the indigospirit thistle was simply luck.

"Faker!" Ryuzetsu thought. "Yeah, you just keep on pretending!" Inwardly, she was starting to feel uneasy, and her hatred for Naruto only continued to grow.

Enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and Naruto was still going. He really was completely absorbed in what he was doing, and had even forgotten that he was in a competition. Seeing a grafted plant like this had seemingly opened up a huge door in his mind regarding skill with plants and vegetation. All of a sudden, he realized that the tens of thousands of medicinal plants he was familiar with were not just useful on their own, but could actually be mixed together.

Eventually, he backed up reluctantly, eyes shining with fascination and admiration.

Taruho and Elder Iruka exchanged a glance, and then Taruho said, "Very well. The time has come to reveal which spirit plants you've identified. Ryuzetsu, you go first."

Ryuzetsu gritted her teeth, then pulled out her jade slip and began to speak.

"I saw eight types of plants, including waterheaven rhubarb, coldsole root, earthdragon fruit, dawnfog lichen..." She continued on until she reached the final medicinal plant. "Sealwort flower!" With that, Ryuzetsu looked over at Naruto, certain that he would never be able to surpass her. Of course, although eight didn't seem like a lot, it was an incredibly difficult task to identify the various elements of a perfectly grafted medicinal plant like this. Eight was actually quite a bit.

"Hmph. If Naruto is shameless enough to say the same eight plants," she said coldly, "then we can can consult the jade slips as proof!"

Naruto cleared his throat, looked around, then flicked his sleeve and pulled out the jade slip that held his notes.

"Let's forget the eight plants that Elder Sister Ryuzetsu mentioned. Other than those, I saw a total of 67 types of medicinal plants. Unfortunately, there were 31 that I couldn't identify. That means that in the end, I identified 36." His words instantly sent the surrounding disciples into an uproar.

"36? How is that possible!"

"7 or 8 should be the limit. How could he possibly have identified dozens?!"

Ryuzetsu glared coldly at Naruto. She simply didn't believe his words, and assumed that he was going to just randomly guess the types of plants.

"Junior Brother Naruto," she said sarcastically, "why don't you just say there were 30,000 types of plants? That would cover everything in the third volume of plants and vegetation, so at least you would be certain of guessing a few right."

All of the Outer Sect disciples in the audience snickered in response to what Ryuzetsu had just said. None of them believed that Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation could possibly match up to hers.

That was especially true after hearing the last thing he said, which seemed completely unbelievable. Obviously, Naruto was just going to blindly guess at the grafted plants.

"If Naruto really can identify all those types of plants, then his skill with the plants and vegetation of the first three volumes would put him on the same level as Elder Sister Kurenai Kurenai! How could that be possible!?"

"Ah, he's just being cryptic to confuse everyone. This guy is so annoying! At least he'll finally be exposed as a fraud!"

As everyone jeered and mocked Naruto, he stood there, frowning slightly.

"Are you people finished yet?" he said, his expression ice cold, true anger finally burning in his heart. If this were a combat situation, he wouldn't feel like that. But considering his grand aspiration of becoming a master apothecary, for people to doubt his abilities with plants and vegetation was a huge insult.

"You can say I'm just lucky, and you can say I won because of my magical items. But when it comes to the Dao of plants and vegetation, don't think that your superficial knowledge enables you to see the length and breadth of heaven and earth!"

When his voice echoed out, solemn and serious, his slight frame suddenly seemed more like a towering mountain. The cold way he looked at the Outer Sect disciples caused their laughter to turn into stares of shock.

Even Ryuzetsu was taken aback. The Naruto in front of her right now seemed like a completely different person than the one from before.

Naruto snorted coldly and then flicked his sleeve. Abandoning his normally charming yet aggravating demeanor, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looked around coldly, and then began to speak, radiating a strange, indescribable energy. "This spirit plant, which I'll tentatively refer to as a black-white orchid, contains goldsilver root, heavenyellow leaf, watery netgrass, ninelands fruit, spiral pulp, bordercloud bloom, searchwind stalk, yang-soaking fruit..."

As he continued to speak, that energy grew stronger and stronger, leading to strange expressions on the faces of the spectators.

That was especially true of Ryuzetsu, whose frown deepened as she looked over at the spirit plant. She was familiar with all of the medicinal plants that Naruto referenced, which were indeed from the first three volumes of plants and vegetation, and yet she couldn't see any evidence whatsoever that they existed within the grafted plant.

Ryuzetsu snorted, still completely unconvinced that Naruto was actually identifying the grafted plants. "Seems like you really are just going to recite a bunch of random plants from the first three volumes of plants and vegetation. If you can actually recite all of those plants from memory, then I guess I'll have lost, and in fact, I'll admit defeat."

Everyone began to once again ridicule and mock Naruto.

"Yeah, that's right. If you're good enough, then why don't you recite the entire first three volumes of plants and vegetation!? Then you'll definitely win!"

"Trying to seem cryptic, huh? Superficial knowledge? The length and breadth of heaven and earth? You're the one with the superficial knowledge. If you don't recognize the plants, just say so. There's no need to try to pull a fast one. How despicable!"

Naruto looked coldly at Ryuzetsu, then back at the crowd. Then he laughed, looked back and the plant, and continued, "Grow hundredgrass root for thirty years until it becomes fullgrown hundredgrass. Remove the stalks and veins, roast them, then soak them in spirit water. After that, graft them onto skybleak leaf, and you end up with this distinctive spotting pattern." Naruto waved his hand, causing a slight gust of wind to lift up one of the leaves on the plant, revealing a distinctive spotting pattern.

"Nine skybleak leaves have been combined into a single leaf, and then fed whiteburn flowers as they grew. You can see that right here!

"Whiteburn flowers only bloom once they reach one hundred years of age. When they do, you have only one hundred breaths of time to graft them onto a clover ginseng, which you can use to feed the skybleak leaf. This white flower here is obviously a whiteburn flower!

"Clover ginseng, when roasted with spirit fire, eventually withers, infusing the ginseng with the essence of the leaves. That will then aid in the growth of flatshell seed, and the two can be combined!

"Then, that flatshell seed..." As Naruto spoke, he gestured grandiosely, pointing out the various parts of the spirit plant which contained the evidence he referred to. His descriptions were very precise, and even included the various techniques involved. Soon, the looks of scorn faded away, and everyone began to breathe heavily. Faces fell, and eventually, all the Outer Sect disciple had looks of disbelief on their faces. There were even some people who cried out aloud with shock.

"This is impossible!"

"Heavens, how could he be doing this!?"

Each and every statement uttered by Naruto was like an invisible palm slapping these people. After all, all of them were apprentice apothecaries. Earlier, they hadn't been able to see through the secrets hidden in the spirit plant, but with Naruto's detailed explanation, all of a sudden, it seemed to make more sense.

Everything Naruto said was correct, and complete. His performance was a like a huge slap in the face to all of the Outer Sect disciples.

"I can't believe that this Naruto... has such shocking skill with plants and vegetation!" The Outer Sect disciples felt like explosions were going off in their hearts. Their previous ridicule and mockery now caused their faces to burn so hot it hurt.

Even more astonishing was that his explanations were obviously inferred in reverse. He was able to discern the grafting method merely by looking at the grafted plant; only someone with an unbelievably advanced skill with plants and vegetation could do something like that.

Even Elder Iruka's eyes were wide with disbelief. "He's inferring everything in reverse! He... he understands plants and vegetation to an incredible degree...

"He's only an apprentice apothecary, and yet he is able to analyze a spirit plant grafted by the peak lord himself. This... this..."

As for Taruho, his eyes were shining brightly; he almost couldn't believe he was looking at the same Naruto he knew from before.

Ryuzetsu's face was ashen, and she staggered backward. Based on her skill with plants and vegetation, as soon as she heard Naruto's explanation, she knew that he was right. In fact, at a few points during his speech, she didn't even understand what he was saying. By this point, she was feeling completely and utterly embarrassed.

Currently, Naruto wasn't using any sort of magical technique. However, every statement he made was backed by his understanding of plants and vegetation, and became like divine abilities or magical items. Ryuzetsu was simply incapable of processing what was happening. She felt like lightning was crashing around in her mind, and she backed further and further away, her face growing even more pale.

"Flaming crow-dipper and nineflames sky can be used to make the spirit bulblets impervious to strong sunlight. Merge them into crow-dipper fruit, and it will give birth to blackskull lily! That is the last of the spirit plants that I recognize." It took Naruto about half the time it takes an incense stick to burn to finish his explanation. His eyes flashed like lightning as he scanned the crowd and then eventually looked straight at Ryuzetsu.

"Elder Sister Du. Ladies and gentlemen of the sect. The Dao of plants and vegetation is deep and profound, and contains no absolutes. Were that not the case, it would be impossible for you to make any progress with your skill with plants and vegetation. And yet, you actually want me to list out all of the plants in the first three volumes of plants and vegetation. What's so hard about that?!" Setting his jaw, he flicked his sleeve and began to recite.

Spiritwinter bamboo….

"Earthdragon fruit...

"Inkroot..." His voice was clear and his expression tranquil as he spoke. Complete silence filled the arena. As his words echoed out, they were like a huge invisible hand smacking everyone a second time.

Everyone present was filled with profound shame, and gasps could be heard. Some people even pulled out jade slips with information about plants and vegetation, which they compared with what Naruto was saying. Soon, they began to tremble, and their shock increased.

Ryuzetsu's face was deathly pale as she backed up, looking at Naruto as if he were a ghost.

The reason she had spoken such snide words earlier was because she had never seen anyone actually recite 30,000 different types of medicinal plants. To her, it seemed like an impossibility. If someone was actually able to do that, then they had to already possess completely heaven-defying skill with plants and vegetation.

As time passed, Naruto spoke more and more quickly. With almost a single breath, he talked for two hours straight. To the audience, it almost seemed like no time had gone by at all, and virtually everyone had taken out jade slips to study along with Naruto's recitation.

After two hours, he finished reciting all of the medicinal plants. Then, there was deathly silence for a moment, followed by an explosive outburst that was audible even outside of the arena.

"Heavens... Not a single mistake! He was completely correct... I can't believe I just witnessed this happen!"

"All 30,000 medicinal plants... Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation is simply shocking. Wait... what is his ranking on the stone steles of plants and vegetation?"

"For Ryuzetsu to compete with Naruto in skill with plants and vegetation is like throwing an egg at a rock!"

As the uproar went on, Ryuzetsu looked at Naruto with increasing bitterness. Her reaction to losing in the fight hadn't lead to a feeling like this. But right now, in terms of skill with plants and vegetation, she had been utterly and thoroughly defeated.

How could she ever have imagined that Naruto, with his incredible luck and multitude of magical items, would actually be so monumentally ahead of her in skill with plants and vegetation?

It was a huge blow to her, and she couldn't help but laugh bitterly. She threw the Cloudsoaring Incense over, then turned and fled the arena. It was simply impossible for her to even consider staying, considering how embarrassed she was.

Now that Ryuzetsu was gone, the other surrounding Outer Sect disciples started to feel even more embarrassed. They quickly clasped hands and bowed to Naruto, then hurried off. It was easy to imagine how long the profound shock they felt would last.

Soon, the arena was virtually empty. Naruto was the only one left behind, coughing dryly. He realized… that he had really done it this time. Putting the Cloudsoaring Incense away, he looked over cautiously at Taruho.

"Disciple... will take off now," he said, turning and leaving so fast that he almost left behind a dust cloud.

Elder Iruka watched Naruto leaving, and the shock in his eyes was still evident.

"Peak Lord, this kid... is outstanding!" he said softly.

Taruho threw his head back and laughed loudly, then waved his sleeve and shot back up toward the top of the mountain.


	9. Chapter 9

It only took about half a month for the news about Naruto crushing Ryuzetsu in the competition to spread among virtually all the disciples, and cause a huge commotion throughout the entire sect.

Whenever Naruto went out, the Outer Sect disciples he encountered would call out cheerful greetings. For the first time in his life, Naruto felt famous. Now, he enjoyed leaving his residence. He would even approach random people and start to chat with them, all in the hopes that they would ask who he was, whereupon he would proudly reveal his name.

Naruto really enjoyed living such a luxurious life. He also performed a threefold spirit enhancement on Ryuzetsu's incense. Utilizing that incense then pushed him from the great circle of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation all the way into the sixth level.

As far as his Lightness-in-Heaviness magic, the more he practiced with it, the more refined it became. In fact, he had even begun to probe the second level of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, which was Heaviness-in-Lightness.

Although it seemed incredibly difficult at first, after numerous attempts, he made a bit of progress.

On one particular day, he was seated cross-legged in his courtyard, practicing Heaviness-in-Lightness, when suddenly his expression flickered. Putting away his wooden sword, he looked up at the main gate of the courtyard. A moment later, someone knocked.

"Elder Brother Naruto, are you home?" After hearing the familiar voice, Naruto's brow furrowed slightly. People didn't often come to visit him in his courtyard. He waved his finger toward the gate, which creaked open to slowly reveal a gaunt young man.

He wore the garments of an Outer Sect disciple, and his expression was very serious as he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Sora offers greetings, Elder Brother Naruto."

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, looking shocked. This young man was the very same Sora with whom he had fought back in the Ovens, when he was in the third level of Chakra Condensation. Apparently, Sora was now an Outer Sect disciple.

After seeing that Sora was still in the third level of Chakra Condensation, however, he felt much more relaxed. Putting a very stern expression on his face, he said, "What, now that you're an Outer Sect disciple you refuse to let bygones be bygones? You still want to fight me?"

Sora immediately shook his head. A wry smile on his face, he once again bowed to Naruto.

"I was ignorant and foolish back then. Please don't ridicule me, Elder Brother Naruto. I've come today to apologize for what happened. Let's forget about all that." Sora seemed very earnest about wanting to forget about everything that had gone on. After all, now that he was an Outer Sect disciple, past matters weren't really very important.

The most important thing was that Naruto was now very famous on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Now that Sora was an Outer Sect disciple on that very same mountain, he obviously wanted to avoid any complications that could arise because of the past.

Naruto blinked, thinking back to everything that had happened back then in the Ovens. In some ways, Sora counted as an old friend. He quickly rose to his feet and invited Sora in, whereupon they sat down and began to reminisce.

Thinking back to that unforgettable blood notice, Naruto couldn't help but ask, "Now that you mention it, back then, I really didn't understand why you would write the character 'die' so many times with blood. Eventually I got it, but even then, I was always curious; didn't it hurt to use so much blood to write so many characters?"

Sora's face flushed with embarrassment when he thought back to his outlandish behavior back then, and he quickly changed the subject.

"Elder Brother Naruto, you need to be careful about the people from the Supervisor's Department. I heard that Ebisu and the others who you forced into the Outer Sect have been harboring a grudge this entire time."

"Ebisu?" Naruto's heart instantly filled with vigilance as he thought back to that burly, muscular man from the Supervisor's Department.

"What level is his cultivation base now?" he asked, looking very serious.

"I heard he's in the great circle of the fourth level of Chakra Condensation," Sora replied immediately, hoping that revealing these matters to Naruto would clear the air between them.

When Naruto heard the fourth level of Chakra Condensation mentioned, he felt a bit better, and actually looked even calmer than before.

Sora didn't go into further explanations. He and Naruto began to chat about the sect, and soon Naruto realized that Sora actually knew a lot more than he did. He seemed to be in the know regarding just about everything that occurred on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. He knew about the big events and the inconsequential matters, and had even heard about things that were supposed to be big secrets. Eventually they started talking about the latest gossip, and the discussion got even more lively.

"Elder Brother Naruto, did you know there are five beauties here in the Spirit Stream Sect, each one of them astonishingly good-looking? Cultivators like us who could be with even one of them would be able to live life without regrets."

Naruto's interest was piqued, so he asked Sora to explain further.

Naruto wanted to hear, and this was a subject Sora loved talking about, so his eyebrows instantly shot up with excitement.

"The five beauties are virtually on equal footing when it comes to how pretty they are. However, their positions within the sect are all different. In first place is Yugao, Peak Lord Xu, who is truly ethereally beautiful and alluring... Oh, right, she's Big Fatty Choji's Master."

"Really?" Naruto was truly shocked to hear this news. Big Fatty Choji had mentioned his Master on several occasions, and had always called her an old shrew. Then he thought back to how skinny Big Fatty Choji had been when they reunited, and how it was because that old shrew hated fat people.

All of a sudden, things made more sense to Naruto. Clearing his throat, and his mind, he decided not to think about the matter further. It was simply too dangerous.

"The next two in the rankings are actually from Fragrant Cloud Peak. The first is Kurenai, Elder Sister Kurenai, and then Ryuzetsu, Elder Sister Ryuzetsu." Sora was explaining everything he knew, so when he brought up Kurenai, it also necessitated talking about Chosen.

"Elder Brother Naruto, you probably already know that on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, there are three great Chosen. One of them is Kurenai from our Fragrant Cloud Peak. Another is A from Violet Cauldron Peak, and the last is... Zabuza from Green Crest Peak! All three of them are consummate geniuses!" Sora's eyes gleamed with envy.

"If they're so awesome, how come they're in the Outer Sect like us?" asked Naruto, his mouth twisted in a bit of a sneer. Although he didn't know much about Zabuza and A, he had already encountered Kurenai. In fact, the jade pendant in his bag of holding had been a gift from her.

Sora coughed dryly. Although he inwardly looked down on Naruto, he didn't dare to express that feeling, and instead chuckled wryly and said, "Elder Brother Naruto, if it weren't for the strict sect rules, those three would already have left the Outer Sect for the Inner Sect. Even still, they're extremely famous, and fully deserve to be known as the number one figures in the Outer Sect. Even the Inner Sects fear them. Once their cultivation bases reach the proper level, they'll definitely become stars in the Inner Sect too! Although, for them, even the Inner Sect will just be a springboard to their eventual goal of joining the legacy echelon!"

Naruto still wasn't very convinced.

"Take Kurenai for example. Because of her spirit meridian of plants and vegetation, she'll definitely inherit the mantle of Peak Lord Taruho, and will become a master apothecary of the Spirit Stream Sect. And then there's A. He grew up in a very poor family, and started out as skinny as a piece of firewood. But he had a rare spirit meridian of lightning, and the magical techniques he cultivates are of the path of the Dao of lightning. In fact, the sect leader personally said that he'll have an extraordinary future."

"Really?" Naruto asked, clearly surprised. He was no longer a newcomer to the cultivation world, and understood a lot about how things worked. When he heard about the spirit meridian of lightning, he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. A spirit meridian like that would cause one's magical techniques to be explosively powerful, and would ensure that few bottlenecks came up within cultivation.

Seeing that Naruto was finally reacting like people usually did when hearing about these things, he went on to talk about the third person: "Of course, there's also Zabuza, who's even more amazing. He has a Sword Spirit Body, and some people even say that he's the reincarnation of an almighty sword cultivator. For some reason, it's like the heavens are guilty, and have blessed him with an entire life of good fortune. When he was three, he was walking down the road and happened to find an ancient sword; when he was seven, a baby crimson cloudbeast fell out of the sky and instantly accepted him as its master; when he was thirteen, he acquired a golden light shield. That is why his name is Tianyou, and as soon as he joined the sect, the prime elders were completely shaken."

Naruto's eyes were wide, and he looked somewhat perturbed. "The heavens are guilty!? Three years old…? What luck! What kind of... wait, he's the reincarnation of some almighty ancient cultivator?"

In that moment, he decided that he would definitely not do anything to provoke Zabuza, who even the Heavens catered to.

Sora was extremely pleased to see Naruto so shocked, so he sighed and then decided to explain a bit about Foundation Establishment. "Those three will definitely reach Foundation Establishment. Elder Brother Naruto, we cultivators start out as servants and then join the Outer Sect. We liken our promotion to the fish which leapt over the dragon gate. However, the truth of the matter is that only by breaking through from the Chakra Condensation stage to Foundation Establishment can you truly be that fish who leapt over the dragon gate. It is only then that your life actually changes, and you truly shed that which is mortal. That is the true path of immortality, when your longevity is increased by a hundred years."

Even as Sora sighed, Naruto heard about an increase of one hundred years of longevity, and his eyes lit up with a light more intense than anything which had ever been seen before in his eyes. He even began to tremble, and his mind filled with rumbling sounds. He reached out and grabbed Sora by the arm.

"Did you just say that after you reach Foundation Establishment you get an extra hundred years of longevity?"

Sora stared at Naruto's bloodshot eyes in shock. Feeling a bit frightened, he nodded his head.

Naruto inhaled sharply, and then began to pace back and forth within his courtyard, waving his arms around and gesticulating wildly. He almost looked like he had gone crazy, and was muttering to himself and laughing maniacally.

Sora was now really scared, and had no idea what was going on. A chill ran down his spine, and he said that he was going to leave. Naruto didn't even notice; it was almost as if he had been bedeviled.

Sora took a deep breath and sped away in fear.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Naruto looked up, his hair disheveled as he took a long, deep breath. Then he threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"One hundred years! Foundation Establishment! I'm definitely going to reach Foundation Establishment!"

Sora had completely ignited Naruto's desire to reach Foundation Establishment. In the following days, he went to the Scripture Pavilion on numerous occasions, and eventually, even went to the Divine Might Hall.

The Divine Might Hall was a place where much general information about the cultivation world was gathered for the purposes of study. After studying the detailed explanation about Foundation Establishment, Naruto confirmed that what Sora had said was accurate, and it was like a spark was lit within him.

In his view, only by reaching Foundation Establishment could he truly take his first step upon the road of eternal life.

What got him even more excited was the information about how there were three ways to reach Foundation Establishment, each of which affected longevity in a different way. At long last, he had a much clearer understanding.

"Heaven, Earth, and Mortal. Three types of Foundation Establishment...

"Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment requires a Foundation Establishment Pill. The probability of success is low, but if you succeed, you acquire a hundred years of longevity.

"Earth-Dao Foundation Establishment involves absorbing earthstring energy and transforming it into shocking power. The probability of success is even lower, but the result is an addition of two hundred years of longevity!

"Last is the legendary... Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment! That's very rare, and can only come via random chance. However, if you can succeed with that type of Foundation Establishment, then you get an extra five hundred years of longevity!" After more detailed study, Naruto confirmed that Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment could not be specifically pursued. As for Earth-Dao Foundation Establishment, there were special requirements to be able to acquire earthstring energy.

Therefore, the simplest thing for him to do was aim for Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment, which required a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Naruto put down the jade slip he was holding and took a deep breath, his eyes shining brightly. "I need to start planning for the future, and make sure I'm completely prepared. And I have to get one of those Foundation Establishment Pills...

"Foundation Establishment Pills are expensive, and just to be prepared for all possibilities, I should definitely have more than one on hand. In that case... the best thing to do would be to concoct some myself!" Naruto's eyes flickered as his dream of becoming a master apothecary and concocting a Live-Forever Never-Die Pill became even stronger than ever.

"Apprentice apothecary, journeyman apothecary, master apothecary... Right now I'm an apprentice apothecary. To become a journeyman apothecary, I have to concoct some medicinal pills and take the promotion test... The minimum requirement for the test is that you master the fifth volume of plants and vegetation. But that alone is no guarantee. I also need to completely master all five volumes of spirit creatures." Eyes gleaming with determination, he pulled out the jade slip that contained the third volume of plants and vegetation and went through it in detail one more time. After confirming that he had memorized everything, he immediately left his courtyard.

However, moments later, he came running back and quickly put on several layers of clothing, and also disguised himself a bit. Only then did he actually leave.

"Those fans of Kurenai are too frightening. Supposedly they've been telling people they're going to cut me to pieces... I really have no choice other than to keep a low profile." He still felt a little bit uneasy.

After considering the difference between himself and Kurenai's fans, he finally reached a decision. "Hmph. Just wait until I reach Foundation Establishment. Then I'll make a big scene and tell everyone that I'm Lord Turtle. Then we'll see who dares to try to cut me to pieces!"

As usual, the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion was completely packed. It wasn't just Outer Sect disciples from Fragrant Cloud Peak in attendance, there were also disciples from Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak, who for various reasons were required to be proficient in plants and vegetation.

Currently, Naruto was worming his way through the crowd, trying to make sure he didn't attract any attention. After reaching the log cabin dedicated to the third volume of plants and vegetation, he snuck in, took the test, then melted back into the crowd.

Although he had originally planned to just leave, after a moment passed, he couldn't hold back from popping his head up and looking around. It didn't take long before a clamor rose up as people realized that on the stone stele of the third volume of plants and vegetation, the turtle design had overtaken the magic bottle.

Feeling quite pleased, he plastered a shocked look on his face and shouted out in astonishment. However, it only took a moment for Kurenai's fiendish fans to appear, which caused Naruto to ball his fists in frustration.

"It's their fault that I have to keep such a low profile," he thought angrily. He glared at them for a moment and then turned and hurried away.

In the following days, news about the little turtle once again spread like wildfire through Fragrant Cloud Peak's Outer Sect. Everyone was talking about the little turtle design that was so prominently displayed on the stone steles.

However, another month later, just as the rumors were beginning to settle down, the disciples outside the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion suddenly noticed that the little turtle had appeared on the fourth stone stele, and it had once again passed the magic bottle to take 1st place.

The result was an instant uproar!

"The little turtle is going to completely surpass Elder Sister Kurenai Kurenai soon! He has four 1st place spots!"

"He has four stone steles, and Elder Sister Kurenai Kurenai has five. Just who is the little turtle...?"

Of course, it was Naruto shouting these things out, and it made him feel quite good. However, when Kurenai's fans started devolving into a frenzy, he cleared his throat, lowered his head, and went on his way.

A few days later, Kurenai showed up in the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion and studied the four stone steles, a very serious expression on her face. Then she entered the tenth stone stele. When she emerged, her name now occupied the 1st place spot.

By that point, all of the Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak were paying close attention to the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. Kurenai had her six stone steles, and the little turtle had four...

Everyone was speculating as to whether or not the little turtle would eventually take a fifth stone stele, which would put him on par with Kurenai.

In fact, some of the Outer Sect disciples were starting to place bets on whether or not the little turtle could actually take 1st place in five stone steles. It even reached the point that some of the Elders of Fragrant Cloud Peak were taking note.

Naruto was going absolutely all out to try to take that next 1st place spot. After getting the relevant jade slip, he studied it day and night. Coupled with how much he hated Kurenai's fans, whenever he made his monthly visit to the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion and got a first place spot, he would make a point of whipping up the crowd in favor of the little turtle.

Gradually, quite a few disciples began to admire the little turtle, and much of that had to do with Naruto himself. He never passed up an opportunity to promote the little turtle to whomever he could speak to about it. For example, by this point, Amaru was thoroughly obsessed.

Eventually, a month later on a bright and sunny day, the magic bottle on the fifth stone stele flickered and then dropped down by one spot, whereupon the little turtle appeared above it.

As of that moment, the Outer Sect disciples of Fragrant Cloud Peak were thrown into pandemonium. Entire crowds came to check out the scene, and soon, all conversations on the mountain revolved around the little turtle.

"The little turtle's skill with plants and vegetation is definitely at an indescribable level. How else could he be so shocking?"

"So awesome! The little turtle and Elder Sister Kurenai are about the same now..."

It wasn't that nobody in the crowd suspected that the little turtle might be Naruto. In fact, some of Kurenai's fans didn't ignore any possibilities, and naturally were paying attention to him.

Feeling quite indignant, Naruto decided that he needed to get rid of any doubts, so he made a big scene of reluctantly trying to take the test for the fourth stone stele. He remained inside for a bit, after which he stepped out and did his best to convince everyone that he had performed badly.

After doing this a few times, Kurenai's fans started to shift their attention to others. Of course, there was no way to prove anything about anybody one way or another.

However, they continued to spread hateful gossip, telling people that if they found out who the little turtle was, they weren't going to cut him into bits, they were going to cut him into teeny tiny bits!

When Naruto heard about that, and thought about what he would look like in such a state, he began to tremble. Finally, he gritted his teeth, and his vicious determination once again bubbled up.

"Not happy, huh? Well I'll make you even less happy when I take more 1st place spots!" Gritting his teeth, he decided that he was going to make that happen, and close the distance between himself and Kurenai.

A month later, the little turtle took 1st place on the sixth stone stele!

After another month, it took 1st place on the seventh!

Shouts of alarm and astonishment rang out around the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion at that point.

"Seven 1st place spots! Go, little turtle, go! Not even Elder Sister Kurenai was able to get ten 1st place spots!"

"Hahaha, I like this little turtle. He's definitely going to pull it off!"

Even as numerous disciples in the crowd were crying out such things, there were a dozen or so young men in the area, all of whom had very grim expressions on their faces. Some of them were even Inner Sect disciples, whose expressions were particularly icy. One of them was a young man with a pockmarked face, whose eyes glinted with particular ferocity.

"Ladies and gentlemen, fellow disciples," he called out. "If anyone knows who the little turtle is, please tell me, and I'll owe you a favor!" That pock-faced young man's voice caused everyone to tremble, and instantly silenced all of the voices calling out about the little turtle.

People in the crowd immediately recognized who this young man was, and quickly averted their gazes. Others were incensed, but were too afraid to speak up.

"That's Elder Brother Zori from the Hall of Justice, Zori Dajin..."

"I heard that he's been chasing both Elder Sister Kurenai and also Du Lingfei..."

Naruto stood there in the crowd, glaring at the pock-faced Zori with righteous indignation. Finally, he stalked back to his courtyard, feeling very irritated.

"You can't even find me, and yet you insist on fighting a duel with me!?" Setting his jaw, he focused on studying the five volumes of spirit creatures. As he learned more about how the various parts of spirit creatures could be used when concocting spirit medicines, his skill with plants and vegetation made further advancement.

In fact, because he was able to compare and contrast the two, and see how they worked together, his skill with plants and vegetation actually experienced significant growth.

The next month, the little turtle design replaced the magic bottle as the 1st place spot holder on the eighth stone stele!

After another month, he took 1st place in the ninth!

He now had nine 1st place spots!

The Outer Sect disciples around the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion were aboil. More and more people were loudly proclaiming that the little turtle was definitely going to take ten 1st place spots.

As for Kurenai's fans, there was nothing they could do to stop it at this point. All they could do was watch as the little turtle's popularity gradually exceeded Kurenai's.

When the final month came, Naruto went to the 10,000 Medicines pavilion when it was at its busiest. He went in disguise, but his expression was one of determination as he worked his way unnoticed through the line leading up to the log cabin beneath the tenth stone stele.

Once he entered, he sat down cross-legged, reached out, and placed his hand onto the stone altar. Rumbling filled his mind as he once again entered that familiar void.

In front of him were 1,000,000 flickering fragments of medicinal plants and spirit creatures. Eyes gleaming with focus, his hands began to fly about and reorganize the pieces.

1,000. 5,000. 10,000...

30,000. 50,000. 80,000

This was the most difficult of all the tests he had taken so far. Soon, sweat was dripping down his face, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked crazed, as if he had forgotten about everything else. He was fully immersed in the process of reconstructing plants and vegetation, and spirit creatures. His hands hurt, and his mind reeled, and yet he kept going.

Before long, the test was over, and Naruto sat here, his hands trembling as he put the last medicinal plant together. With that, his vision went blurry, then cleared, and he was back in the log cabin.

Breathing heavily, eyes shining with satisfaction, he wiped the sweat from his brow and clenched his fists.

Ten stone steles, ten 1st place spots!

The three peaks on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect were completely shaken.

Outside the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, a buzz of conversation could be heard. People were speeding over from all directions to catch a glimpse of the little turtle in 1st place on all ten stones steles. Gasps rang out.

"Ten 1st place spots! The little turtle actually did it!"

"The last time anyone in the Spirit Stream Sect ever took ten 1st place spots in the stone steles was a thousand years ago! How could I ever have imagined that I would see something like this in my life!?"

Everyone was clamoring in shock, and although many people had predicted that this would happen, it was still a shocking event. That was especially true considering the previous three months, in which one stone stele after another fell into the hands of the little turtle. When people thought about that, they simply couldn't stay calm.

"Just who exactly is the little turtle...? In less than half a year, he started from the third stone stele and then swept through all his competition in the rest of them. This guy is totally famous!"

"His skill with plants and vegetation completely exceeds Kurenai's. Maybe in the future, there will even be another master apothecary in addition to Kurenai!"

In the same moment that the little turtle secured 1st place on all ten stone steles, the steles began to vibrate, letting off intense rumbling noises that merged together, and then were joined by the sound of a clanging cauldron coming from further up the mountain.

It was as if someone were striking a medicine cauldron with an enormous log. The muffled booms spread out through all of Fragrant Cloud Peak, and then echoed out to fill the entire south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. It was accompanied by a medicinal aroma that filled the area, and caused the mists that covered Fragrant Cloud Peak to grow even thicker.

At the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak was an immortal's cave where Elder Obito was in the middle of feeding some of his cherished five-colored spirit birds. When he heard the sound of the cauldron, his eyes lit up with surprise.

"The Fragrant Cloud Cauldron?" He sent his divine sense out and instantly detected what was happening among the ten stone steles outside the 10,000 Medicines pavilion. His expression immediately flickered, and he stepped out into the air.

Next, Elder Iruka appeared, along with other Foundation Establishment cultivators. All of them had heard the sound of the cauldron, and were now proceeding in the direction of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, excited expressions on their faces.

The last to appear was Taruho, who had been in the middle of meditation. When he heard the sound of the cauldron, his face flickered, and he looked outside. Then, he transformed into a beam of colorful light that shot toward the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

As the sound of the cauldron rang out, the crowd grew even more excited. Both the Outer Sect and Inner Sect disciples of Fragrant Cloud Peak were completely shaken, and many began to rush in the direction of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

"That's... the sound of the precious treasure of Fragrant Cloud Peak, the Fragrant Cloud Cauldron!"

"Someone took ten 1st place spots at the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion! That hasn't happened for a thousand years! This is unheard-of!"

Excitement even broke out on Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak. Big Fatty Choji was hanging his head as a beautiful, alluring woman berated him. That woman was none other than the old shrew that Big Fatty Choji had complained to Naruto about. As soon as she heard the sound of the cauldron, her expression flickered, and she looked off into the distance. Big Fatty Choji's face fell in shock as he did the same thing.

"The sound of the Fragrant Cloud Cauldron. Could it be that some disciple on Fragrant Cloud Peak has actually gotten perfect results in all of the tests?"

Similar scenes played out on Green Crest Peak, causing the elders and the peak lord there to look over in astonishment.

More and more people were filling the area around the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

Naruto was there in the crowd, and when he heard the uproar, he looked up at the ten stone steles. Although he didn't join in with the shouting, his heart was filled with an indescribable feeling. He stood there, a smile growing on his face; not a complacent smile, or a lofty smile, a smile of pure happiness.

It had taken him more than a year to work this miracle. He had started from the first stone stele, then taken 1st place in all ten. However, having a bunch of 1st place spots didn't mean much to him in the end. The most important thing was that he had gained a complete mastery over plants and vegetation, as well as the spirit creatures, something that apprentice apothecaries needed to be proficient in.

He had crafted an unprecedentedly deep foundation. As he thought back to the long days and endless nights he had spent obsessively studying plants and vegetation, and then spirit creatures, Naruto sighed emotionally.

In the entire Spirit Stream Sect, there weren't even any Inner Sect disciples who had such a strong foundation in their skill with plants and vegetation. Currently, Naruto was feeling very satisfied.

Soon, numerous beams of light could be seen flying through the air, all of them emanating powerful cultivation base fluctuations. Among them were Elder Obito, Elder Iruka... and of course Taruho.

They looked over the ten stone steles, and the little turtle in the 1st place spot, and their eyes began to shine brightly. That was especially true of Taruho. That little turtle design caused him to first start in shock, then begin to laugh loudly, a strange expression on his face. He looked out over the crowd, and caught sight of Naruto, after which a glint of praise appeared in his eyes that no one could detect.

After a long moment passed, he flicked his sleeve and left, quite happy after having guessed that the little turtle belonged to none other than Naruto.

Soon, the other members of the Senior generation left. However, more and more Inner Sect disciples were showing up to stare in shock at the little turtle. After all, they had all risen up from the Outer Sect, and knew very well that only Outer Sect disciples were allowed to challenge the stone steles. They also knew how difficult of a challenge that was.

"Any Outer Sect disciple who can do this is definitely a Chosen..."

"Hmph. We're journeyman apothecaries, so all we care about is spirit medicines. Incredible skill with plants and vegetation is meaningless if you can't concoct spirit medicine!"

Some of the Inner Sect disciples clearly admired the little turtle, and others disdained it. However, regardless of their feelings, a deep impression had been made, and in fact, most of them were actually a bit frightened.

None of them had any idea how skilled this person would be at medicine concocting, but with such a solid foundation, once that person became a journeyman apothecary, his path would certainly be much smoother.

The uproar continued until eventually Kurenai showed up. She stood there on her blue flying silk, examining the little turtle. Slowly, the crowd quieted down, and all eyes turned in her direction.

The sight of the little turtle in the 1st place spot on all of the stone steles caused an unyielding gleam to appear in her eyes. In the past, this was the sort of complicated expression that she caused to appear in the eyes of others, but now, the opposite had happened.

"Just who are you...?" she murmured through clenched teeth. Although she couldn't bear to admit it, she had tried hard on numerous occasions to match the mysterious little turtle in terms of skill with plants and vegetation, but his ability was just too profound. As of this moment, she had no confidence whatsoever in being able to surpass him. By now, that little turtle was completely and utterly branded onto her heart.

"You might be stronger than me with plants and vegetation, but just wait until you become a journeyman apothecary. I refuse to believe that you'll surpass me when it comes to medicine concocting!" She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She had already taken the test and been promoted to journeyman apothecary, so after giving the stone steles one last look, she spun and vanished off into the distance.

After giving the ten stone steles one last look, Naruto turned and left. "This is just the first stop along my path to becoming a grandmaster apothecary!"

The matter of the ten stone steles caused a commotion that lasted for months. People talked about it nonstop, especially when they went to the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion and actually saw the little turtle on the stone steles.

Meanwhile, Kurenai's fans were combing the sect, employing all tactics possible to try to figure out who the little turtle was. That was especially true of Zori, who was infuriated about the matter.

The entire south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect was affected. While people were constantly discussing the little turtle, Naruto was in his courtyard, eyes bloodshot as he controlled a tree leaf that floated in front of him.

He was now studying the stage of Heaviness-in-Lightness. Actually, he had repeatedly attempted to do so throughout the past half year, but it wasn't until now that he had been able to do anything with it.

Because of how things had ended at the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, Kurenai's fans were constantly searching for him. A sensation of crisis slowly built up within him, so he decided to weather things out in his residence while he worked on Heaviness-in-Lightness.

"Lightness-in-Heaviness is about speed. Heaviness-in-Lightness... is about control methods!" A thoughtful expression appeared in Naruto's eyes as he pondered everything he had come to understand recently.

"Or perhaps you could say that such control is actually an eruption of one's internal spiritual energy!" Naruto's eyes glittered. He was now in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation, and his internal spiritual energy was like a huge river. When it came to Lightness-in-Heaviness, he could sustain it indefinitely, and unleash shocking speed.

He had long since come to understand that the so-called stage of Heaviness-in-Lightness was simply a way of utilizing one's internal spiritual energy. It was like how a flat leaf could be used to pull a small branch up into the air, but a rolled up leaf could hoist up a small rock. Likewise, if you cut a leaf into strips and then braided it into a rope, it would be able to lift even heavier objects.

Many materials were like that; in the end, the different weights that could be lifted depended simply on how one combined the various elements.

Heaviness-in-Lightness was just such a technique, and by mastering it, you could reach a new stage.

Naruto thought about the matter for a bit longer, then waved his hand, causing another leaf to fly over, which he began to experiment with. Sometimes the leaf moved quickly, at other times it moved as slowly as if a mountain were crushing onto it. However, he wasn't getting the result he wanted.

After one try didn't work, he tried ten times. After ten tries didn't work, he tried a hundred times. After a hundred tries didn't work... he tried a thousand times.

He eventually lost track of how many times he had tried. Soon, his courtyard was filled with fragments of leaves which had been destroyed, and he even had to go out looking for new leaves. Eventually, nearly all of the spirit plants on Fragrant Cloud Peak were devoid of leaves, until, on one particular day, Naruto's eyes flickered, and he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. The leaf in front of him was floating there gently, but when it fell to the ground it sounded like a boulder.

A huge boom rang out, and the entire courtyard residence shook. It was as if that one leaf weighed hundreds of kilograms.

"It worked!" Naruto's eyes were shot with blood, but his expression was one of excitement. He suddenly waved his hand, sending his little wooden sword flying out. It turned into a black streak that shot through the air with incredible speed. It was now even more incredible than before, and emanated a shrill whistling sound as it pierced through the air.

Then, a boom rang out as a huge boulder was shattered to pieces.

Such incredible power was no longer equivalent to the sixth level of Chakra Condensation. Even someone in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation would be completely shocked by what had just happened.

Naruto looked very excited as he leaped to his feet and shook out his arms and legs, then sent the wooden sword flying around the courtyard dramatically. Sometimes it would speed through the air rapidly, other times it would hang ponderously in the air, motionless.

The wooden sword experienced a complete transformation there in the courtyard. Soon, sword Chakra swirled around the entire area, almost as if a huge wind had kicked up. Naruto was even more excited than before.

A moment later, he waved his right hand, and the little wooden sword flew back into his hand. The gaudy sword didn't look very remarkable, but the truth of the matter was that thanks to the threefold spirit enhancement, it was completely beyond what it had been before.

"If I can master both Heaviness-in-Lightness and Lightness-in-Heaviness, then by using them together, I can perform... the only divine ability within the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art!" Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with anticipation.

"Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning!" Naruto put the wooden sword away, then closed his eyes for a long moment. Suddenly, he lifted his right hand and pointed up into the sky. Instantly, his previously invisible internal spiritual energy suddenly appeared in a dazzling flash, the thin strands of spiritual energy rapidly forming into the outline of a cauldron.

It was as if some mysterious power were guiding them, transforming them into that specific shape.

Pulses of incredible pressure began to radiate out from the cauldron, spirit pressure which was even more powerful than the pressure from the flying sword.

Naruto's face rapidly drained of blood as the spirit pressure within him was depleted by nearly eighty percent. At that point, the cauldron was fully formed, and was emanating an intense spirit pressure. Naruto gestured with his fingers, sending the cauldron smashing down toward the ground.

When that happened, the cauldron shattered, and vast quantities of spiritual energy scattered about.

A powerful boom echoed out, and the ground for 300 meters in all directions emitted cracking sounds as fissures spread out.

Thankfully, Fragrant Cloud Peak's protective spell formation almost instantly repaired the damage. Even still, quite a few Outer Sect disciples who were nearby heard the muffled boom, and were shocked.

Naruto took a deep breath. He had never imagined that the Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning would be so impressive. A single attack from it seemed almost unbeatable.

"Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning definitely deserves to be the only divine ability within the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art. No wonder it can only be unleashed after both Heaviness-in-Lightness and Lightness-in-Heaviness are completely understood." Naruto eyes shone with a brilliant light, but almost in the same instant, he frowned. Although this divine ability was strong, it took a lot of energy out of him.

Naruto knew that the reason he had wasted only eighty percent of his spiritual power, and not more, was because it was so pure. Any other disciple who gained enlightenment of this divine ability before the eighth level of Chakra Condensation would have had all of their internal spiritual energy drained. The only way to truly utilize the technique without incredible wastage was to wait until the ninth level of Chakra Condensation.

"According to the description of the Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning, it can be divided into high-grade, mid-grade, and low-grade levels. The cauldron I just produced was low-grade. If I can reach the mid-grade level, I'll be able to form two cauldrons. By reaching high-grade, I can have three cauldrons, then form them together into one big cauldron!" After standing there thoughtfully for a moment, Naruto sat down cross-legged and began to perform breathing exercises. It was not until the moon hung high in the sky that he finally opened his eyes, revealing a bright spirit glow in his eyes. As of now, his cultivation base had almost fully recovered.

"A divine ability like this can be used as a trump card. If Kurenai's fans ever mess with me, I can use it to crush them." Although Naruto felt a little bit better, when he thought about the Inner Sect disciple named Zori, his brow furrowed.

"You have to be at least in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation to get into the Inner Sect..." When he thought about that, Naruto felt just as worried as before. He glanced down thoughtfully at his skin for a moment, and his eyes glittered. With that, he rose to his feet and took a few steps forward, picking up speed as he reached out with his thumb and index finger. A black light flashed as the tips of those two fingers then touched each other.

Cracking sounds rang out in the air, along with an explosive aura. Naruto looked at his two fingers in surprise for a moment before recovering his composure.

"This is a killing move... that I can use to save my own life." After some more thought, he came to the conclusion that the more powerful the killing move, the better it would be for him. Now, the main thing he was worried about was the Undying Live Forever Technique.

After acquiring his Undying Iron Skin, he had attempted to continue cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique, but found that as soon as he began, he started feeling hungry again.

Furthermore, the spirit tail chickens on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect were no longer an option. He had only ordinary spirit food to rely on, which he was sure wouldn't be enough to stave off his hunger.

He had searched the rest of the mountain high and low for other spirit creatures to eat, but ever since the Chicken-Thieving Fiend's rise to fame, the three mountains on the south bank began to closely guard all the areas where spirit creature were raised.

The anxiety on his face grew as he contemplated the problem. Even as he pondered how to solve the problem of the intense hunger, he suddenly thought back to the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill.

"Yeah, that's right..." he said, eyes beginning to shine brightly. Not only could that pill increase one's cultivation base, it also replenished vital energy. After acquiring his Undying Iron Skin, he realized that cultivating it actually required vital energy, which was why he got so hungry.

"I've made huge strides in my skill with plants and vegetation, and although I haven't been promoted yet, I can still concoct medicine on my own. Furthermore, although the cost of some spirit medicines is very high within the sect, the actual ingredients are relatively cheap." Naruto was becoming more and more convinced that he had come up with a solution.

"Basically, I can just concoct my own medicine. That way, when the time comes to take the promotion test, I'll be much more confident. Also, it will be much easier to concoct a Foundation Establishment Pill in the future." Having made his decision, he set his jaw thoughtfully to ponder the matter further. The next morning at dawn, he fairly leapt to his feet.

"Concocting medicines requires medicine formulas, and I can get those even without being promoted to journeyman apothecary. All I have to do is head to the market at the bottom of the mountain and I'll be able to purchase whatever random medicine formulas are available." Naruto patted his bag of holding and thought about how he hadn't really spent much money at all since arriving at Fragrant Cloud Peak. As an Outer Sect disciple, he was given a stipend of spirit stones every month, which meant he had quite a bit of savings built up.

The truth was that Naruto didn't really care much about material possessions, though. He immediately flew out of his courtyard onto the path that led down the mountain.

During the entire time he had been on Fragrant Cloud Peak, this was only the second time he had left the mountain to go to the markets. The first time was when he had purchased the medicinal plant he needed to trade for that medicinal pill. Almost as soon as he stepped foot off of Fragrant Cloud Peak, two people suddenly flew toward a nearby courtyard residence.

"Elder Brother Ebisu, are you home?!"

"Elder Brother Ebisu, Naruto left the mountain!" These two people were both quite powerful, with extraordinary cultivation bases in the fourth level of Chakra Condensation. They burst excitedly into the courtyard, where a burly man could be seen sitting cross-legged in meditation.

The burly man was incredibly muscular, as broad-shouldered as a bear and a tough-looking as a lion, and as soon as he heard the words spoken by the two men, a bright gleam flickered in his eyes.

"Naruto? So, he finally left the mountain, huh?!" The burly man laughed viciously, then suddenly shot to his feet. He looked as big as a mountain, and had profound energy, which came from a cultivation in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation. As a result, he emanated a powerful spirit pressure.

This was none other than Ebisu, who used to work in the Supervisor's Department.

These three had been friends since back in those days, and at that time had lacked for virtually nothing. Not only did they have other servants to wait on them back then, they had also been able to embezzle quite a sum of spirit stones. Of course, they had never expected to be literally pushed into the Outer Sect by Naruto and his friends. The past two years had been hard on them, and their hatred for Naruto had seeped deep into their bones.

However, they couldn't afford to provoke Big Fatty Choji, much less Third Fatty Kuro. On the other hand, even though Naruto seemed strong, they were of the opinion that he was actually relatively weak. Thus they had long since planned their revenge. Unfortunately for them, during that entire time, Naruto never left the sect. And in the end, even though Ebisu had some connections, he didn't dare to violate sect rules.

Actually, his biggest connection in the sect was his older cousin, who was an Inner Sect disciple. However, his cousin didn't pay much attention to him, and had only helped him to a limited degree, even in his days as a servant.

Therefore, they had been forced to wait for two whole years for Naruto to leave the sect. Now, the moment they had been waiting for had arrived. Ebisu was feeling completely confident thanks to his recent breakthrough into the fifth level of Chakra Condensation. After asking around, he knew the level of Naruto's cultivation, and had also heard about him taking 1st place in the recent competition, although the news was that he had won that victory by pure chance.

"Back then he scared us all by tricking us into thinking he had mastered Lightness-in-Heaviness. Hmph! I can't believe he forced us into joining the Outer Sect. At long last, I'm going to give vent to this anger of mine!" A fierce gleam appeared in Ebisu's eyes. His plan wasn't to kill Naruto, just crush his bones and sever his tendons, enough to keep him bedridden for at least a year.

Although the sect would surely investigate the matter afterwards, because there would be no eyewitnesses, because no death would be involved, and because Ebisu had connections in the sect, the big matter would become a small one, and then that small matter would be easily resolved.

"You can't blame us if he just doesn't measure up!" Ebisu flickered into motion, immediately heading down off the mountain, followed by his two friends. The three of them moved at top speed to a certain path they knew that Naruto would pass on his way back from the market, and lay there in wait.

The market wasn't huge, so it didn't take Naruto long to find two random tier-1 formulas. One of them could be used to replenish spiritual energy, the other was to enrich vital energy. When it came to formulas for enriching vital energy, the high-tier versions were very expensive. However, the low-tier versions, despite being uncommon, were mostly used by mortals for health and exercise purposes.

Although most cultivators wouldn't find them useful, to Naruto, they were like precious treasures. After using his turtle-wok to perform a threefold spirit enhancement on the resulting medicinal pills, they would have completely different results.

Naruto didn't even spend very many of his spirit stones to get the necessary medicinal plants he would need to concoct the spirit medicines. Patting his bag of holding in happiness, he began to hum a little tune as he left the market. As he walked along the little path back to the sect, he fantasized about what it would be like to concoct the medicines, and he was very happy.

However, before he had walked very far down the path, his expression suddenly flickered, and he stopped in place. After reaching the sixth level of Chakra Condensation, his senses had grown much keener, and he could instantly detect the breathing of three people hiding in the nearby bushes. Their hearts were also racing as they watched him coming up the path.

Seeing that Naruto had stopped in place, Ebisu and his two friends burst out to stand in front of him.

"Naruto," he said viciously, "the day has come to end our grudge!" His friends wore equally ferocious grins on their faces as they spread out to flank Naruto.

"Ebisu?" Naruto blurted, blinking. He quickly scanned Ebisu and his two friends, and after determining the level of their cultivation bases, immediately relaxed.

"Naruto, even if you drop to the ground and beg for mercy, it's too late. It was your idea to force us into the Outer Sect, and you're going to pay for that. I, Ebisu, have been waiting for this day for a long, long time!" Laughing loudly, Ebisu waved his right hand, unleashing the power of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation. Numerous leaves were swept up into the air as a result, making for a very impressive scene.

"After joining the Outer Sect, I spent the entire time practicing cultivation, and now I'm in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation. Let me tell you, Naruto. Today you will truly understand what it means to be bullied. Your bones are going to be broken and your tendons severed!"

Laughing with complacent arrogance, Ebisu performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing a green flying sword to appear. It was only about 15 centimeters long, but radiated a cold, ancient air.

As for Ebisu's two friends who had flanked Naruto, they smiled viciously as they unleashed their cultivation bases and produced their own flying swords.

Considering they had him surrounded, and outnumbered him three to one, they were completely confident that they could crush Naruto. That was especially true after their own analysis led them to the conclusion that Naruto had never fully mastered Lightness-in-Heaviness like they originally thought he had.

"You would have been safe if you had never left the mountain. But here you are, outside the sect. And now you will understand the great price to be paid for the error of your ways!" Ebisu felt a little better after having vented in this way, although anger still burned within him.

"Aren't the three of you afraid of violating sect rules by ambushing me here?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"Sect rules? Hahaha! We're outside the sect right now. Plus, you don't measure up to us at all in skill. No one's going to blame us for breaking a few bones and severing some tendons. At the worst, we'll have to make some apologies, and then the whole matter will be over with." Ebisu laughed proudly, imagining the image of Naruto smashing into the ground. He was even preparing some good taunts to use after beating him down.

However, when he noticed how calm Naruto was acting, he suddenly realized that something wasn't right. Despite being surrounded on three sides, Naruto's expression hadn't changed at all, and in fact, he seemed to find the situation somewhat odd.

Looking like a master cultivator, Naruto proudly said, "Oh, so that's how it is. Well in that case I feel a lot better."

Ebisu's pupils constricted, and he felt even more ill at ease. However, now was not the time for pondering the situation.

"Attack!" he barked, performing an incantation gesture to send his flying sword shooting toward Naruto. At the same time, his two friends also performed incantation gestures and sent their flying swords into action.

Three flying swords were bearing down on Naruto, who suddenly smiled. He didn't even produce a magical item; he simply stepped backward. To the eyes of Ebisu and his friends, Naruto just seemed to vanish into thin air.

When he reappeared, he was right next to one of the burly men in the fourth level of Chakra Condensation. The man's eyes went wide, but before he could do anything, Naruto clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out.

The fist moved with incredible speed, landing on the man's neck with a boom. The man's entire body was shaken, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as he bent over backward. It was as if some massive object had slammed into him; he immediately flipped head over heels, slamming into a nearby tree.

The tree shuddered, and the man coughed up some more blood, then collapsed, unconscious.

This sudden development left the man's companion staring at Naruto in complete shock. His mind felt as if it were being struck by countless bolts of lightning. Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined that Naruto... could possibly move so fast, or unleash such astonishing power.

Ebisu's face fell, and he gasped. Without even thinking about it, he backed up, looking at Naruto in disbelief.

"You..."

"Too weak," Naruto said, looking like a profound master, alone in the world, unable to find a worthy opponent. Sighing, he took a step forward, appearing directly in front of the other fourth level Chakra Condensation cultivator.

The burly man let out a maddened shout, causing cultivation base power to surge wildly, sending the flying sword slashing toward Naruto at top speed. However, because of the Undying Live Forever Technique, and his Undying Iron Skin, Naruto's fleshly body had reached a shocking level. He easily sidestepped the sword, then once again punched out with his right fist.

A boom rang out, and the man let out a miserable shriek. Blood sprayed everywhere as he was sent spinning backward. There was no tree for him to run into, so he landed about thirty meters away, his internal organs vibrating painfully. He couldn't even get back to his feet; he just lay there, seemingly struggling to hold on to life.

"Too weak," Naruto said, shaking his head. Then he looked back at the trembling Ebisu.

"Y-you... you..." Ebisu's mind was spinning, and he suddenly felt like a complete fool. He had absolutely no confidence in being able to win now; Naruto had suddenly transformed into something like a wild beast.

Two fist attacks had easily knocked out his two friends; that in itself required an incomprehensible amount of power. Subconsciously swallowing, Ebisu backed away; he had no desire to keep fighting, and the only thing he could think about now was to flee.

Before he could get very far, though, Naruto flew forward at top speed, hand clenched into a fist which sped toward Ebisu. Before it could land, a flashing light appeared in front of Ebisu, and a little buckler materialized, which met Naruto's fist.

The resulting boom caused Naruto to sigh. He shivered slightly, but at the same time, the buckler trembled, and it was sent spinning off to the side, its spiritual energy fading rapidly.

Ebisu was now scared out of his mind. He had spent quite a few merit points on that buckler, and it should have been able to hold out for a while even against the sixth level of Chakra Condensation. And yet, Naruto had severed his connection with it in a single blow.

"Naruto, y-you... you push things too far!" he shrieked.

"Hmph! Let me tell you, today you will truly understand what it means to be bullied. Your bones are going to be broken and your tendons severed!" Naruto was happier than ever to see the terror in Ebisu's eyes. He would never give up an amazing chance like this. Furthermore, he didn't just repeat Ebisu's words, he also unleashed his cultivation base, allowing the power of the sixth level of Chakra Condensation to erupt out. A huge wind swept up, sending his hair flying about, and his energy soaring.

"Sixth level of Chakra Condensation..." Ebisu gasped, his eyes bulging and his scalp tingling in fear. He staggered backward as Naruto closed in with another punch. This time, there was nothing he could do to block it, and the fist slammed into him.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he flew backward, his entire body vibrating. A miserable shriek rang out. It didn't matter that he was as broad-shouldered as a bear and a tough-looking as a lion, or that he was in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation. He was now going all-out to escape, heart filled with intense bitterness, rueing his decision to try to ambush Naruto... in a place so far away from the sect.

However, Naruto was chasing after him like a wild beast, causing Ebisu to shriek, "Naruto, aren't you afraid of violating sect rules!?"

Naruto cleared his throat, then repeated Ebisu's own words. "Sect rules? Hahaha! We're outside of the sect right now. Plus, you don't measure up to me at all in skill. No one's going to blame me for breaking a few bones and severing a few tendons. At the worst, I'll have to make some apologies, and then the whole matter will be over with." Then he kicked out with his foot.

That kick sent Ebisu flying up into the air, where he once again coughed up a mouthful of blood. A look of despair appeared on his face, and he screamed. However, before he could even land on the ground, Naruto began to batter him with more punches and kicks.

Ebisu was terrified, and couldn't stop screaming. Soon, he was completely swollen from head to toe, and his screams were weakening.

His bones were broken, his tendons severed, and his face ashen. He soon lay there, numb and staring at Naruto in complete horror.

Although Naruto was pure, fair and somewhat skinny, what Ebisu saw was a vicious beast disguised in human skin. That was even more so the case when Ebisu realized that Naruto hadn't even used any magical items. He had only relied on the terrifying strength of his own body to crush him.

Off in the distance, the two burly men in the fourth level of Chakra Condensation regained consciousness, and when they saw what was happening, their scalps went numb and their hearts began to pound. They immediately pretended to go unconscious again, not daring to move lest they attract the attention of Naruto.

Seeing that Ebisu was gasping for breath, Naruto finally lost interest. He settled his spiritual energy, then emptied their bags of holding and also took the little shield. Humming a little tune, he continued on his way down the path.

As he watched Naruto leaving, Ebisu wanted to cry, but no tears would come. "Who the hell told me that Naruto won the Fragrant Cloud Peak competition by pure chance!?"

If he had known all along that Naruto was this terrifying, not even the threat of being beaten to death could have convinced him to stir up trouble.

As for the other two burly men, they were scowling miserably, hearts filled with terror as Naruto made his way off.

"Elder Brother Ebisu, what do we do now...? Let's just leave him alone, let bygones be bygones. I heard that's what Sora did." The two men anxiously awaited Ebisu's response.

Ebisu's heart was filled with bitterness. After a moment of thought, he gritted his teeth.

"I want revenge, but can't get it myself. What should I do...? I need to think..."


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto returned to the sect humming a little tune and feeling secretly delighted. After reaching his courtyard, he sighed.

"I practice immortal cultivation to live forever. People like that who are always fighting and killing are complete lunatics."

He sat down in his courtyard, and began to organize the various items he had taken from Ebisu and his friends. They were by no means rich, which meant that Naruto didn't actually make off with very much, although he didn't really care either way. When he was finished, he took out the medicinal plants he had just purchased and examined them carefully for a while.

Although he had a profound foundation in plants and vegetation, he actually didn't have much experience dealing with the plants themselves. Now that he was able to examine these plants in person, his observations melded with the information that already existed in his mind. He even scratched the surfaces of some of the plants off to examine their internal structure.

After doing some tests, a thoughtful expression appeared on Naruto's face, and he pulled out the two random formulas he had acquired. After glancing at the formula for replenishing spiritual energy, he focused on the other formula, designed for mortals who wished to strengthen their physical bodies.

"Longevity Incense..." he murmured. This particular medicine formula didn't require the use of very many medicinal plants, only seven. Furthermore, there wasn't anything very special about the way they interacted. However, by using the techniques of mutual augmentation and suppression, it was possible to draw up the power of those seven medicinal plants, crush them into a powder, and then turn that into incense.

Two of the plants were even toxic. If a cultivator consumed them, it would merely lead to two weeks of diarrhea. To mortals, however, they would be fatal.

"There are many types of of spirit plants in heaven and earth. Some can be directly ingested, whereas others need to be concocted into pills to bring out their optimum effects. There are many which, because of their toxicity, can only be used to concoct incense." Muttering to himself, Naruto took out the medicinal plants needed for the Longevity Incense, whereupon he began to study them in minute detail.

"I'm still not totally confident in this," he thought. "The most important thing to think about in concocting medicine is the success rate. Even the simplest tier-1 spirit medicines still have a high rate of potential failure.

"I have ten sets of each medicinal plant. I can't waste them." Naruto was a cautious person, and prefered to be confident before doing anything. That was exactly how he had been back when he had absorbed himself in memorizing all the different types of plants and vegetation, and the current situation was the same. Instead of immediately trying to concoct the medicine, he preferred to pore over the medicine formula first.

Seven days passed. After fully absorbing the information from the medicine formula, he then closed his eyes and began to analyze the matter further. It was evening when he finally opened his eyes. Then, after a bit more thought, he produced the formula for the spiritual energy replenishing medicine and began to review it.

Two more weeks passed. Naruto's eyes were bloodshot, but by now, he felt that he completely understood all of the various medicinal plants that were part of these medicine formulas. After more thought, he rose to his feet and walked out of the courtyard.

Medicine concocting required a pill furnace, but those were quite expensive, more expensive than Naruto could afford. Thankfully, in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, there were pill furnaces available for use by disciples in their medicine concocting, at the price of a few merit points.

The Medicine Concocting Pavilion was on the east side of Fragrant Cloud Peak, not too far from where Naruto lived. It wasn't like the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, which was always teeming with crowds of people. The Medicine Concocting Pavilion was a relatively quiet and peaceful place. After all, even on Fragrant Cloud Peak, people who qualified to concoct medicine were relatively few in number. Of that small number, quite a few already had their own personal pill furnaces, and didn't need to come here to rent one.

Naruto paid for the right to use the Medicine Concocting Pavilion facilities for an entire month. He was given a personal workshop, complete with a protective spell formation that prevented any interference from outside while he worked.

Clutching the wooden key he had been given, Naruto quickly found workshop #13 and walked inside. It wasn't very large, and was completely empty except for the pill furnace and the flame which burned beneath it.

After sitting down cross-legged, Naruto took a deep breath, then examined the pill furnace closely. When he tried to manipulate the flame with some spiritual energy, he found that he could cause the flame to grow much hotter, filling the entire room with intense heat. At the same time, the pill furnace itself began to glow bright red.

Drawing upon his foundation in the Violet Chakra Control Art, he performed some tests, and quickly got used to the intense heat. It didn't take long before he became familiar with how to control the level of the flame. Finally, he slapped his bag of holding to produce the various types of plants and vegetation.

"The Longevity Incense is too important to put first on the list to concoct. First I'll get familiar with the general concoction process, then I'll try. I'll start out with the Spirit Replenishing Pill. That's a tier-1 pill, useful for the fifth level of Chakra Condensation and lower." Naruto was now completely determined. Expression very serious, he mentally reviewed the medicine formula for the Spirit Replenishing Pill, then began to concoct.

He produced the first medicinal plant, then waved his hand, causing the leaves to fall off. Eyes gleaming with concentration, he sent his internal spiritual energy out, forming a powerful yet gentle force that crushed the leaves together into nine beads of sap, which he then dropped into the pill furnace.

A plopping sound could be heard, and a green mist instantly rose up within the pill furnace. Naruto's eyes gleamed brightly, and as soon as the mist actually appeared, his hands flew through the air as he extracted the stems and veins of the medicinal plant, which he then tossed into the furnace as well. Occasionally, he adjusted the flame, ensuring that more and more mist built up inside the furnace.

None of that mist escaped outside, though. It congealed together, swirling as Naruto pulled out the second medicinal plant. After catalyzing it briefly, the medicinal plant bloomed with flowers, the petals of which he plucked and put into the pill furnace.

Time passed. Naruto was completely focused on what he was doing as he pulled out one medicinal plant after another. Soon he was on the eighth plant, and his eyes were shining brightly as he stared at the pill furnace. As he continuously adjusted the temperature of the flame, sweat dripped down his face.

Two hours later, a muffled rumbling could be heard from inside the pill furnace. Black smoke poured out, to be absorbed by the room's spell formation. Naruto was choking and coughing, and a frown could be seen on his face as he stared at the charred slag inside of the pill furnace.

"Failure..." he murmured. Sitting down and placing his chin on his hand, he began to think. After reviewing everything he had done, he didn't begin another batch immediately. After all, he was a cautious person, and whether it came to memorizing plants and vegetation or concocting medicine, he always wanted to do it in the most prudent way possible.

He contemplated the matter for three full days. During that time, he reviewed what he remembered regarding his first attempt at least a thousand times. That helped him to identify at least fifty problematic areas. Finally, he took a deep breath, rested for a moment, and then once again heated up the furnace.

The actual time it took to produce the pill wasn't very long. Four hours later, the pill furnace emitted rumbling sounds once again, and when the smoke cleared, the spoiled remnants of the pill once again became visible.

At this point, his stubborn determination once again rose up. Removing the slag from the pill furnace, he examined it closely, then compared it to the information he had gleaned so far about medicine concocting. He then spent ten more days further examining the medicine formula, as well as the plants and vegetation involved. Finally, eyes bloodshot, he began to try a third time.

The third batch seemed much more stable, but just in the moment when the pills were about to solidify, everything fell apart, accompanied by muffled booms. Naruto leapt forward and stared at the slag again. After more thought, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to ponder the matter further.

This time, he spent nearly half a month. His time in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion was almost up. Finally, his eyes opened, and he gritted his teeth as he began a fourth batch.

Eventually, his time was up, and the most recent batch was a failure.

If any journeyman apothecary could observe what was happening, he would find it hard to believe. Almost any other person would have attempted at least dozens of batches of medicine within a month's time, and would have succeeded in at least some of them.

Even if they only came up with one pill in the end, it would still count as a success.

After all, most people viewed medicine concocting as something extremely difficult. If that weren't the case, then there would be more than a mere two master apothecaries in all of the Eastwood Continent.

Even journeyman apothecaries were not very common, and most of them didn't have any hope of ever becoming master apothecaries.

Of course, the real reason for that was... most people didn't have access to the resources which were needed to truly develop as a journeyman apothecary.

In the end, though, if anyone worked long enough at it, their chances of eventually becoming a master apothecary would be much greater. Therefore, most people believed that the best way to increase one's success rate in medicine concocting was simply to practice a lot!

And that was why most people simply pursued practice.

After you got familiar enough with the process, your confidence in success would increase. Of course, simultaneously, journeyman apothecaries came to view failure as an ordinary thing. After a failure, one could just begin again, and thus slowly improve. That was especially true of the more ordinary medicinal pills. Ingredients for pills like that were not very expensive, and could be used as fuel for that hard work and practice.

However, Naruto walked a different path than others. He went much slower, and after every failure, he would spend more time analyzing why he had failed than he had in the actual concocting process.

This had a lot to do with his caution. It would even be appropriate to call him scrupulous. Only a bit of that scrupulousness had come out during his time studying plants and vegetation. Now that he was making his first foray into medicine concocting, his scrupulous nature increased dramatically, becoming the most outstanding aspect.

Because of that scrupulousness, he was able to identify even more problem areas than the average person would. In fact, the number of problems that other people might identify couldn't even compare. He thought and pondered the matter in ways that others wouldn't even consider, and thus identified various fishy areas.

Because of his caution, even the slightest problem was something he would wish to control before he continued with any concocting. It was because of these reasons that he spent so much time thinking.

The month had passed; Naruto's hair was disheveled and his face was streaked with ash. Exhausted, he left the Medicine Concocting Pavilion and returned to his courtyard, where he sat there thinking and reviewing.

"There are still nine problem areas. Once I solve those problems, I should be able to continue with the medicine concocting." Gritting his teeth, he sat there in his courtyard, eyes closed, analyzing the matter, occasionally taking a medicinal plant out to observe and study.

Half a month passed before he suddenly rushed out, spent the merit points, and entered the Medicine Concocting Pavilion again.

The fifth batch... was a failure!

After analyzing the matter for seven more days, he found more problems, solved them, and then tried again.

The sixth batch... was a failure!

His eyes were bright red. He spent twenty days contemplating the matter before trying a seventh batch.

Two hours into the process, no rumbling sounds could be heard. Instead, a medicinal aroma spread out, and Naruto's face lit up. There inside the pill furnace were two green medicinal pills. The seventh batch was a success!

He tried again, and the eighth batch... succeeded, producing three pills!

The ninth batch... succeed, producing five pills!

The tenth batch... also succeeded, However, in the end, only one pill appeared. It was not green, but rather, black. Furthermore, it emanated no medicinal aroma, but rather, different odd scent.

Even as Naruto pondered the matter curiously, the entire Medicine Concocting Pavilion was thrown into an uproar.

There were no rats or mice on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Such things could not exist in a cultivation location such as this, not unless they were actually spirit creatures. However, ants were a common thing on the mountain.

Ants were an ordinary part of nature, and usually lived in the cracks and crevices of the boulders which could be all over the mountain. They didn't cause problems for the cultivators, and were essentially just an ordinary part of mountain life. As such, few people paid them much attention.

Today, however, the disciples on duty around the Medicine Concocting Pavilion were shocked to find that innumerable ants were filing across the ground toward the pavilion itself.

The disciples on duty gasped; there were so many ants it was impossible to determine how many they were. The sight itself was enough to make their scalps go numb. "What's... what's going on!?"

At the same time, many of the disciples in the various pill-concocting workshops cried out in alarm, and the sound of explosions caused by failed batches of pills could be heard. Although the pill-concocting workshops were protected by spell formations, they were also built into the mountainside, which meant that the ants could easily get into them through the various tiny crevices that riddled the mountain.

All of them were heading toward one particular workshop.

That was of course the workshop occupied by Naruto, who wore an expression of curiosity as he looked at a black medicinal pill. It was at about this time that he noticed the clamor outside, and suddenly realized that the workshop he was in happened to be filled with ants.

The ants almost seemed to have gone insane, and all of them were heading directly toward him.

"An ant apocalypse has struck Fragrant Cloud Peak!" Naruto shrieked, leaping to his feet. Unexpectedly, even as Naruto leaped to his feet, so did the ants, heading directly toward the black medicinal pill he held.

Naruto's scalp was completely numb, and the first thing he could think of to do was throw the medicinal pill away. Almost as soon as it left his hand, the ants changed directions, pouncing onto it.

The pill was instantly engulfed, transforming into a ball of ants, the sight of which caused the blood to drain from Naruto's face.

A moment later, the ant ball suddenly collapsed, and the ants scurried back into the cracks and crevices. No trace remained of the medicinal pill.

In fact, not an ant remained in the entire Medicine Concocting Pavilion. The ants had come quickly, and vanished just as quickly. Of course, many of the disciples who had lost the spirit medicines they were working on felt a bit depressed at what had happened, but there was nothing they could do about it. Furthermore, the disciples on duty, having determined that no major losses had occurred, decided not to report the strange incident.

Naruto knew exactly why the ants had gone crazy, but as for everyone else, the only thing they saw was a mass of ants passing through.

Naruto's heart was still thumping in fear. There hadn't seemed to be anything unusual with the pill he had just concocted. However, he had been very focused on doing a perfect job, a job even better than the previous attempt. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he had actually made some adjustments to the ratios in the last Spirit Replenishing Pill batch.

"Could it be that the final Spirit Replenishing Pill was something extremely beneficial to ants?" Naruto shook his head as he thought about how incredible he was. Not only could he concoct shocking medicinal pills, he could concoct pills drove ants crazy.

Upon leaving the workshop, he heard the depressed mutterings of the other disciples, and felt a bit guilty. Ducking his head down, he quickly hurried away.

A few days passed, during which Naruto confirmed that the incident in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion didn't cause any waves in the sect. Finally, he went back, paid his merit points, then selected a different workshop within which to concoct medicine.

This time, he started working on the Longevity Incense.

Concocting incense and concocting pills were two different things, and required the use of different techniques. Pills were consumed, whereas incense was inhaled. Of course, the final form was different too, one being a pill, the other being a stick of incense.

Considering what happened last time, Naruto was very careful in the way he went about working on the Longevity Incense. Two months passed, and after using ten batches of ingredients, he ended up with seven portions.

He left feeling quite satisfied, seven portions of Longevity Incense in hand. Back in his log cabin, he performed a threefold spirit enhancement, after which the Longevity Incense changed to a deep violet color. Although the threefold spirit designs were somewhat faint, they were still visible. Furthermore, the feeling he got when looking at the incense was completely different than before.

Naruto looked thoughtfully at the Longevity Incense, and realized that he himself was also very different than he had been. Before, he didn't understand much at all about spirit medicine, but after concocting some on his own, he was much more knowledgeable. For example, he knew that any type of spirit medicine would have impurities, impurities that shouldn't be absorbed into the body, and yet were difficult to separate out. Such impurities could build up inside the body and eventually become so-called medicinal toxins.

That was why many experienced members of the Inner Sect were hesitant to recommend that less experienced disciples consume medicinal pills. Theoretically speaking, much of the medicinal toxins could be expelled out of the body. However, if someone consumed too many medicinal pills and accumulated too much medicinal toxin, it could influence their future cultivation.

Therefore, depending on how many impurities existed within a given spirit medicine, it would be classified as one of six different levels.

"Low, mid, high, superior, premium, supreme..." he murmured, looking down at the Longevity Incense. If the medicine was more than ninety percent impure, it would be considered a toxic medicine, and wouldn't be classified in the hierarchy. Furthermore, such medicines would never be consumed unless absolutely necessary.

If the medicine was around eighty percent impure, it would be considered low-grade, which was the most common type of spirit medicine. Sixty percent impurity was considered mid-grade, and such medicines were not common. In fact, only true master apothecaries were known to produce such medicines.

Medicines which were only forty percent impure were high-grade, and were rare. As for medicines that were twenty percent impure, they were considered superior-grade, and if they were only ten percent impure, they were premium-grade. Those were medicines that usually only appeared in large auctions.

Then there were the spirit medicines that had no impurities whatsoever, the legendary supreme-grade medicines.

Before, he hadn't really understood what he was doing when he performed spirit enhancements on the spirit medicines. But after closely examining the Longevity Incense, he realized that it didn't make it more powerful, the way it did with magical items. Instead... it actually improved the quality of the spirit medicine!

The Longevity Incense he held was now only forty percent impure, meaning that it was a high-grade medicine!

As soon as he realized this, Naruto got very excited. Then he considered the matter a bit more, and decided to make a trip to Violet Cauldron Peak. His purpose was not to visit Big Fatty Choji, but rather, to visit the only Spirit Enhancement Hall that existed on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect.

There, Outer Sect disciples could spend merit points to get help from the elders in the Spirit Enhancement Hall to perform spirit enhancements. Although there was still a chance of failure, many disciples frequented the place.

After looking around the Spirit Enhancement Hall, and also making some discreet inquiries, Naruto was able to confirm that performing spirit enhancements on spirit medicine did indeed reduce the impurities and make them more effective.

After returning to Fragrant Cloud Peak, Naruto looked excitedly at the incense he had made, then finally lit one stick and took a deep breath. Almost immediately, he felt as full as if he had eaten a big meal. Furthermore, as the aura of the incense spread out within him, he felt warm and comfortable. It was as if the flame of his life force had been fueled, and was now burning a bit hotter.

Continuing to inhale the incense, he went on to cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique. As soon as the feeling of hunger hit him, he took a deep breath, and the feeling quickly faded.

The seven sticks of Longevity Incense enabled Naruto to cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique for half a month. During that time, he could sense his Undying Iron Skin growing tougher and stronger.

Feeling in very high spirits, he organized his bag of holding, then went down to the market and sold some of the things he had acquired from Ebisu and his friends. Using the profits, he purchased ten more sets of ingredients for Longevity Incense, and then once again began to concoct medicine.

Thanks to his constant caution and attention to detail, his success rate in concocting the Longevity Incense increased, rising from seventy percent to eighty, and eventually reaching one hundred percent.

However, he still wasn't satisfied. Although his success rate had reached one hundred percent, the quality of the resulting spirit medicine was merely low-grade.

His skill was not something that could be changed in a short period of time, leaving him with only one option: use spirit enhancement to remove the impurities. When he used the Longevity Incense in cultivation, he would breathe in deeply and feel the true happiness that could be attained in Heaven and Earth.

His Undying Live Forever Technique improved with each day, as did his cultivation base, which was now nearing the great circle of the sixth level of Chakra Condensation.

His greatest progress was with this Undying Live Forever Technique. With only a bit more work, he would be able to achieve a major success with his Undying Iron Skin. Naruto's body was far tougher and more durable than before, and when he used the Throat Crushing Grasp, his fingers were an even deeper black color than before.

By that time, though, the Longevity Incense was beginning to slowly lose its effectiveness. In the end, it did virtually nothing, causing Naruto to sigh. He was aware that if you consumed enough of any given spirit medicine, the body would eventually adapt to it, and it would lose effectiveness.

If he wanted to continue his cultivation, he would need a spirit medicine that was even better than the Longevity Incense. Unfortunately, the formulas for spirit medicines like that were strictly controlled. It was impossible to purchase them at the market; they could only be acquired with merit points after being promoted to journeyman apothecary.

The only other option would be to go to a larger market, but places like that were some distance away from the sect. After considering the matter, Naruto lit up with determination.

"I'm going to get promoted to journeyman apothecary!"

Considering his experience concocting medicines, as well as his skill with plants and vegetation, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to qualify for promotion. However, just to be safe, he spent the following several days buying a few more random medicine formulas. After concocting each one a few times, then analyzing his failures, he felt much more confident, and went to sign up for the journeyman apothecary promotion test.

Of course, the promotion test wasn't something held for a single individual. Only when enough people had signed up would the test be held. After waiting for another month, even as he was pondering some matters regarding spirit medicines, his identity medallion inside of his bag of holding began to vibrate. When he pulled it out, an ancient voice filled his mind.

"Tomorrow at dawn, come to the Journeyman Apothecary Hall, where the test for journeyman apothecary promotion will be held."

The Journeyman Apothecary Hall was located on the south face of Fragrant Cloud Peak. It was surrounded by lush trees and vegetation, and could only be accessed by a narrow limestone path which snaked off of one of the main thoroughfares that ran up and down the mountain. Unless there was a promotion test underway, few people would walk along that path. However, when the time came for the test, it would be packed.

In addition to the disciples who had come to take the test, there were also friends who had come to support the test-takers, or even people who weren't confident enough to take the test without first observing it being held a few times.

From a distance, the Journeyman Apothecary Hall actually looked like a person sitting cross-legged in meditation. In front of that person was a pill furnace, beneath which was a passageway that led into a main square.

Set up in that main square were twenty pill furnaces, all of which looked completely identical. Laid out next to each of the pill furnaces was a bag containing various types of plants and vegetation that could be used in medicine concocting.

It was dawn, and Naruto, worried about getting lost, had come very early. However, when he arrived, he found that there were people who had arrived even earlier than him. There were dozens of people standing around in groups of two or three, chatting quietly, and even some people who stood apart from the others alone, waiting cross-legged in meditation.

Naruto wasn't the type of person to sit around like an idiot meditating. After glancing around, he caught sight of Sora and walked over. When Sora saw him approaching, he clasped hands in greeting, and the two of them began to chat. It quickly became apparent that virtually nothing went on in the sect without Sora finding out about it.

"Elder Brother Naruto," he said, "did you hear that about half a year ago, Ebisu and his friends were mysteriously beaten into bloody pulps? They've been bed-ridden ever since, and for some reason, won't talk at all about what happened." Even as he spoke, he looked at Naruto carefully to see his reaction.

Naruto yawned dramatically, and was just about to start boasting about what had happened when all of a sudden, a buzz of conversation rose up in the crowd. At the same time, Naruto felt as if someone had suddenly looked in his direction. When he turned his head, he saw a young woman walking toward him.

She wore the long garment of an Outer Sect disciple, but it did nothing to conceal her curvaceous figure. She had a waist as slender as a willow tree, which only served to accentuate the rest of her curves, and make her seem incredibly beautiful. She had long legs, and a perky rear end, and as she approached, people couldn't stop from staring.

With her pretty face, and clear white skin that seemed so delicate it might be broken by a faint breeze, she oozed an attractiveness that could easily prove fatal to almost any man.

Naruto was a bit disgusted to hear people gulping dramatically, even Sora.

Sora licked his lips, and his eyes shone with infatuation "That's... Elder Sister Ryuzetsu, Ryuzetsu!" he whispered excitedly. "She's one of the five hottest women on the south bank! She's the immortal beauty of my heart... Oh my goodness, she just looked at me!"

"She's looking at me!" Naruto said derisively. He simply watched as Ryuzetsu got closer. Suddenly, her phoenix-like eyes flickered with a murderous aura as she glared straight at Naruto. She had long since come to admit that Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation exceeded hers. However, she was still filled with complete and utter revulsion for him. With a slight snort, she walked off to the side.

Sora stared at her in a daze, completely oblivious to Naruto's derision. In fact, he seemed more infatuated than ever.

"So Ryuzetsu is going to take the test too..." Naruto thought. After looking over the twenty pill furnaces, he calmed himself down and focused. "Ah, whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm not here to compete with her. This is an exam administered by the sect, not a contest. Everybody has a chance to get promoted."

Soon, Tokuma appeared, and when he noticed Naruto, he hesitated for a moment, then grinned and called out a greeting. Naruto smiled and clasped hands in response, after which Tokuma sat down off to the side to wait.

Eventually, even Iwashi showed up, whom Naruto had first encountered outside the Missions Offices. Then, more and more people began to appear, and a good-sized crowd built up.

Before too much time passed, the main door of the Journeyman Apothecary Hall creaked open, and an old man walked out. He had a full head of white hair, and piercing eyes, and as soon as he appeared, everyone quieted down.

The old man's expression was calm as he strode forward with hands clasped behind his back. He came to a stop at the front of the square, looked around at all the Outer Sect disciples, then nodded his head and began to speak.

"I am surnamed Xu, and I shall preside over this test for promotion from apprentice apothecary to journeyman apothecary.

"The test will consist of one portion regarding plants and vegetation, and another regarding medicine concocting. To pass the portion regarding plants and vegetation, simply walk through the passageway." Elder Hayate didn't seem to want to offer any further explanations. After speaking only three sentences, he simply closed his eyes and ignored everyone.

Even as Naruto blinked in response, a long-faced young man walked out from the crowd. After clasping hands and bowing to Elder Hayate, he strode toward the passageway leading under the giant pill furnace.

As entered the doorway of the passageway, a beam of light appeared, which surrounded him, then vanished. A moment later, the pill furnace trembled, then let out a five muffled reverberations.

Sora leaned over and whispered, "Five reverberations means that his skill with plants and vegetation encompasses the fifth volume..." He definitely deserved his reputation of knowing about everything in the sect.

Naruto blinked again. Before coming, he'd had no idea of how exactly the test would be carried out. Having heard Sora's explanation, he examined the huge stone pill furnace, and suddenly had the feeling that it must be connected to the stone steles outside the 10,000 Medicines pavilion.

"What do I do now...?" he thought hesitantly. "Kurenai's fans are still combing the mountain for me."

Soon, more people approached, most of whom received five reverberations. However, one of them only received four reverberations, upon which Elder Hayate flicked his sleeve, sending that disciple spinning away.

"Elder Hayate!" the disciple exclaimed, face flickering. "I thought volume four of plants and vegetation was the minimum requirement to be able to take the test!"

"The rules have changed. Now it's the fifth volume."

"But..." The young man stared in shock, then bitterly clasped his hands and bowed. Not daring to say anything further, he left.

This turn of events caused the sound of whispered conversations to swell. Sora's eyes flickered with surprise, and he suddenly produced a tiny notebook, within which he began to take notes. Naruto looked over and saw a page filled with lines of handwriting, each character as small as the head of a fly. Apparently it was a record of all matters pertaining to the sect, large and small alike. Naruto couldn't help but admire how seriously Sora took the whole matter.

It was at this point that Iwashi stood up and entered the passageway. The reverberations echoed out six times, after which Elder Hayate opened his eyes and nodded slightly. Iwashi clasped hands and then stepped out of the passageway.

Tokuma's eyes flickered. He and Iwashi had never gotten along, so he snorted coldly and walked into the passageway, after which six reverberations could be heard.

After giving Iwashi a meaningful stare, and sat back down cross-legged off to the side.

The fact that both Iwashi and Tokuma had received six reverberations caused a buzz of envious conversation to rise up. At the same time, Ryuzetsu's eyes flickered, and she walked through the passageway. As she did, six reverberations could be heard, which caused even more envious gleams to appear in the eyes of the onlookers.

Murmured conversations instantly broke out.

"Tokuma, Iwashi, and Ryuzetsu are all persons of outstanding talent within the Outer Sect. Not only have they mastered five volumes of plants and vegetation, but they also have command of the first volume of spirit creatures. I would say that they have a seventy to eighty percent chance of passing the test and being promoted to journeyman apothecary."

"Historically speaking, anyone who takes the journeyman apothecary test having already mastered six stone steles will pass, as long as that disciple's performance in medicine concocting isn't lacking."

Even as everyone discussed the matter, Naruto gritted his teeth. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about Kurenai's fans. Just as he was about to take a step forward, a figure suddenly appeared off in the distance, speeding along the mountain path. It was a middle-aged man, his hair completely disheveled, but his eyes sparkling with life. Even before he arrived, his voice echoed out to be heard by all.

"I, Amai, having spent seven years in secluded meditation, and have finally made a huge breakthrough in my skill with plants and vegetation. Finally, I have emerged once again into the world, not just be promoted to journeyman apothecary, but to become the top journeyman apothecary in the entire test!" Looking very proud and lofty, he flickered through the air toward the giant pill furnace's passageway.

Elder Hayate didn't pay the man any heed, not even deigning to open his eyes. However, everyone else in the crowd seemed astonished to have heard the name Amai.

"Amai? Who's that? I've never heard of him before."

"Considering how old he is, he must be an Outer Sect disciple from seven or eight years ago... He wants to be the top journeyman apothecary, which isn't a very easy thing to do."

Even as everyone expressed their shock, Amai stepped into the passageway, looking extremely proud and confident. Almost immediately, powerful reverberations began to echo out into the air.

One reverberation, two reverberations... five, six, seven... before anyone in the crowd could even react, eight reverberations echoed out from within the pill furnace.

Elder Hayate's eyes snapped open, and he looked over at the middle-aged man, a broad smile of praise on his face.

"Five volumes of plants and vegetation, and three volumes of spirit creatures," he said. "Excellent!"

Looking very excited, Amai clasped hands and bowed to Elder Hayate. Then he turned, and when he looked at Ryuzetsu and the others, the pride in his eyes was very clear. Swishing his sleeves, he sat down confidently in front of the center-most of the pill furnaces.

Finally, gasps could be heard from the crowd, as well as the clamor of conversation.

"Eight reverberations! Not only did he master everything about plants and vegetation, he even got through three volumes of spirit creatures!"

"It seems he might be able to do exactly as he said and become the top journeyman apothecary!"

When Naruto witnessed what happened, he was left feeling quite underwhelmed. Therefore, when everyone in the crowd started getting excited, he almost couldn't believe it.

"He only mastered three volumes of spirit creatures, right?" he asked of Sora. "Why is everyone making such a big fuss?" If he remembered correctly, when it came to the third stone stele of spirit creatures, over a thousand people were listed as having passed it. Even the tenth stone stele had been passed by hundreds of people.

Sora rolled his eyes, feeling more contemptuous than ever of Naruto. Of course, he didn't dare give voice to that contempt, and instead cleared his throat and said, "Elder Brother Naruto, you just don't understand. To master all five volumes of plants and vegetation is hard enough as it is. The volumes of spirit creatures are even harder! Even mastering one of them is enough to make you the subject of much envy. Obviously, to master three is even more shocking. Do you think everyone can be consummate Chosen like Kurenai or the little turtle? Look, just forget about those two. On all of Fragrant Cloud Peak, there are probably less than fifty people who have passed the stone steles of all five volumes of plants and vegetation plus all five volumes of spirit creatures!

"Each and every one of those people are dragons and phoenixes among mortals. Think about it! There are a lot of names on those stone steles, but those name lists are thousands of years old. Plus, many of those people have already moved on to the Inner Sect, leaving only their names behind here in the Outer Sect!

"Furthermore, you only need to master five volumes to take this test. This guy has eight! Just as he said, he's definitely going to become the top journeyman apothecary, which will earn him the 5,000 merit point prize."

Although Sora's words were actually a bit contemptuous if you paid close attention, Naruto didn't really notice. Eyes gleaming with elation, he looked at Sora and said, "Did you just say that Kurenai and the little turtle are consummate Chosen? Are they really that awesome?"

"Of course! Especially the little turtle. He's completely shocking. He's the first person in a thousand years to get first place in all ten stone steles. Elder Brother Naruto, I have to say, you really shouldn't aim too high." Even as the contempt in Sora's heart rose to new heights, Naruto laughed heartily. The more he was around Sora, the more he liked him. Clapping him on the shoulder, he suddenly strode forward.

Sora gaped in shock as Naruto walked toward the passageway. Of course, Naruto was somewhat well-known for his skill with plants and vegetation, considering that he had defeated Ryuzetsu. It was a given that he would eventually take this test.

However, what happened next caused Sora's eyes to bulge. Naruto strode proudly into the passageway, after which a flash of light could be seen, and the muffled reverberations began.

One, two, three... six, seven, eight!

Everyone became deathly quiet. However, the reverberations didn't stop. A ninth reverberation echoed out and then... a tenth!

RUMBLE!

When the tenth reverberation echoed out, Elder Hayate's eyes shot open, and they glowed with unprecedented brightness. He looked over at Naruto, completely shocked.

It must be stated that it would be rare enough for one of the thousands of Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak to master all ten of the volumes, including the five for plants and vegetation, and the five for spirit creatures. Virtually all of them would have already taken this test. For someone to be so patient as to wait until they had mastered all ten was something that Elder Hayate had never seen, not until this very day.

Even Kurenai had taken the test after having mastered only nine.

Ryuzetsu's eyes went wide as she stared at Naruto standing there in the passageway. Although she had already known that he was far more advanced than her in his skill with plants and vegetation, she had never imagined that he would have reached such an astonishing level. Not only had he completely mastered plants and vegetation, he also had shocking skill with spirit creatures.

Her mind was spinning, and she could do nothing but gape blankly. She couldn't help but recall how she had demanded to compete with him in skill with plants and vegetation, and how he had cautiously and even nervously asked about her ranking. Then she thought about how anxious he had looked when he had agreed to compete.

As of this moment she realized that Naruto's nervousness back then had been a front, concealing the wide smile that had blossomed in his heart.

"Bai. Xiao. CHUN!" she thought, gnashing her teeth.

Tokuma and Iwashi also gasped and stared at Naruto in astonishment.

As for Amai, who had spent so many years in secluded meditation, he began to tremble. He was glaring at Naruto, his mind spinning, waves of shock crashing into him as he realized that Naruto was definitely his lifelong archenemy.

"The most important part of the journeyman apothecary test is medicine concocting!" he thought. "He might be strong, but I refuse to believe that he can outdo me in concocting medicine. I spent seven years in secluded meditation just to take the top spot in this test!"

At the same time, the surrounding Outer Sect disciples were gasping and even crying out in shock.

"That was... ten reverberations! That means he mastered all five of the volumes of spirit creatures too! He passed all of the stone steles outside the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion! There aren't even fifty disciples in the entire Outer Sect who can do that!"

"This guy has incredible patience! He waited to pass all ten of the stone steles before taking the promotion test!"

"Don't tell me... he's the little turtle!?" The crowd was in an uproar.

Of course, most flabbergasted of everyone was Sora, who was staring at Naruto with eyes so wide they seemed to be on the verge of popping out of his head. Moments ago, he had despised Naruto for not thinking much of having mastered three volumes of spirit creatures, but now, he clearly had every right to have that attitude...

"Mastery of plants and vegetation and mastery of spirit creatures... Naruto was clearly just messing with me! But this is simply unbelievable. He's only been in the sect for a few years! Could it be... that he really is the little turtle?" Gasping, Sora pulled out his little notebook and began to write down the new developments. Inwardly, he was rejoicing that he had chosen to smooth things out with Naruto, and was also rejoicing that he hadn't said anything too derisive earlier.

Even as everyone was giving voice to their shock, Naruto walked out of the passageway, sighing. Actually, if there had been a way to conceal his accomplishments regarding the ten stone steles, then he would have. After all, there were still Inner Sect disciples among Kurenai's fans.

Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done about it. He couldn't just give up on the promotion. Despite the fact that he had been forced to reveal the truth, when he saw how excited the crowds were, and when he heard people calling out his name, he was actually quite moved.

"What wonderful fellow disciples. Ah, if only everyone were like that!" Sighing emotionally, and under the eyes of everyone in the audience, he selected a pill furnace and sat down.

Elder Hayate looked thoughtfully at Naruto. A smile flickered across his face, but quickly vanished. After recovered his composure, he calmly said, "The bag in front of you has ten sets of medicinal plants, which you can use to concoct ten tier-1 spirit medicines, specifically, Inkspirit Incense!

"You will be judged based on your success rate, with a minimum of two successes being the requirement to pass. Whoever has the most successes... will be awarded 5,000 merit points! You may begin immediately."

The Outer Sect disciples in the audience instantly began to buzz with excitement in response to Elder Hayate's explanation.

"This time the test is to concoct Inkspirit Incense!"

"Inkspirit Incense isn't the most difficult tier-1 medicine to concoct, but it's not easy... It's not like Spirit Condensation Incense or other spirit medicines like that, which many apprentice apothecaries have experience with."

"Hmph. They're only refining the ways to test one's qualifications in medicine concocting. Can't you see what's happening? Before, they required four volumes of plants and vegetation, now it's five. They even increased the level of difficulty of the spirit medicine to be concocted. Presumably, things will only continue to get harder in the future."

As everyone discussed the matter, the group sitting in front of the pill furnaces in the square had very serious expressions on their faces. Although some of them smiled bitterly when they heard that the test involved Inkspirit Incense, they didn't allow themselves to be distracted, but instead opened the bags and began to inspect the medicinal plants.

Sora had mentioned the matter of the 5,000 merit points earlier. Now that Naruto heard confirmation from Elder Hayate, his heart was thumping. He was already running low on merit points, which he needed to get medicine formulas and medicinal plants.

"If I can get those 5,000 merit points, it will save me a lot of time and effort." With those thoughts on his mind, Naruto opened the bag, within which were the ten sets of medicinal plants, plus a jade slip, which was none other than the medicine formula for the Inkspirit Incense.

He didn't immediately begin to concoct the medicine, but instead settled his Chakra and cleared his mind, then began to study the formula.

He took his time, which was how he had grown accustomed to concocting medicine. Even the slightest question about anything needed to be analyzed completely until he felt completely confident.

His initial research alone took him two hours.

By that time, Ryuzetsu and everyone else had already finished inspecting the plants, and were beginning to actually concoct the medicine. In fact, most of them were more than half finished with their first batch.

It didn't take long before everyone except Naruto was already in the middle of medicine concocting. Naruto was the only one who was sitting there, looking thoughtfully at the jade slip. That sight left Sora somewhat shocked.

By now, the first batches of spirit medicine were coming out. Rumbling sounds began to emanate from the pill furnaces of everyone except Naruto. Most of them had long faces as black smoke rose up, indicating that their first batches were failures.

Amai, on the other hand, threw his head back and laughed loudly. His pill furnace was trembling, and a medicinal aroma began to spread out. Shockingly, a three-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense appeared.

The surrounding Outer Sect disciples all craned their necks to look.

"He succeeded with his first batch!"

"This Amai sure has talent in medicine concocting!"

An excited expression appeared on Amai's face as he glanced around at the other test-takers. His gaze lingered for a moment on Naruto, and when he realized that he was still studying the medicine formula, a look of disdain appeared in his eyes. Finally, he pulled out the second set of plants and began concocting a second batch.

Ryuzetsu and everyone else all had unsightly expressions on their faces, and gritted their teeth as they began to work on a second batch.

Time passed. By the time the fourth hour of the test had passed, most of the group was finished with their second batch. Muffled rumbling could be heard as... not a single test-taker succeeded.

It was at about this time that Naruto put the jade slip down. His mind was now permeated with the medicine formula for Inkspirit Incense. However, just when everyone thought he was about to begin, they were stunned to see him take out one of the medicinal plants and begin to study it closely.

"What is Naruto doing? He already studied the medicine formula for four hours! What's the point of studying the plants?"

"I know this is a test, but does he really have to go so slow...?"

Sora's eyes were wide with disbelief as he watched everyone else starting their third batches.

The audience waited in befuddlement as the sixth hour of the test arrived. By now, eighteen of the test-takers had all consistently failed. Soon eight hours had passed, then ten. Eventually, four people succeeded in concocting the Inkspirit Incense, including Ryuzetsu, Tokuma, and Iwashi.

The aura of the incense spread out in all directions. Amai was chuckling proudly at being the first person to concoct a second stick of Inkspirit Incense. Looking around proudly, his contempt for Naruto grew.

At this point, Naruto was studying the fourth of the medicinal plants. Occasionally he would even tear a perforation into the plant itself, which left the audience shocked. Even Elder Hayate had noticed.

Time flew by. Soon, twelve hours had passed. Everyone failed in their sixth batch of spirit medicine, except for Amai, who was the only person to succeed.

That caused quite an uproar, and even elicited a slight nod from Elder Hayate.

"This Amai has already concocted three sticks of incense! Nobody else even has more than one!"

"In tests past, two successes meant you passed the test, and four successes made you a Chosen. All Amai has to do is concoct one more stick to become a Chosen!"

As everyone discussed the matter, a gleam of self-confidence could be seen flickering in Amai's eyes as he murmured, "I'll definitely concoct a fourth stick of Inkspirit Incense. I'm going to be Chosen, and I'm going to be the top journeyman apothecary!"

Swishing his sleeve in grand style, he began to work on his seventh batch.

Ryuzetsu's face was ashen as she gritted her teeth and began working on her own seventh batch.

When the fourteenth hour arrived, Ryuzetsu's eyes shone with elation as a medicinal aroma began to spread out from her pill furnace. Even as black smoke rose up from everyone else's seventh batches, she produced the only success!

"I've met the minimum, but mere promotion is not enough!" Ryuzetsu constrained her excitement, taking a deep breath as she, along with the ashen-faced Amai, began work on another batch.

In the sixteenth hour, more rumbling sounds could be heard as yet again... everyone met with failure.

As of this moment, of the nineteen other people besides Naruto who were taking the test, Amai had three successes, Ryuzetsu had two, Tokuma and Iwashi both had one, and everyone else... had nothing but failures.

As for Naruto, he was studying the last of the medicinal plants.

"This test is so hard..."

That was the thought running through the minds of the Outer Sect disciples in the audience. They could feel the anxious pressure building up. Most of the test-takers only had two sets of ingredients left. With the exception of Ryuzetsu and Amai, who had already met the minimum requirement, and Tokuma and Iwashi, who both had one success already, the other test-takers had to succeed with both sets of ingredients, otherwise they would fail completely.

Those remaining disciples were now extremely nervous. Essentially, this ninth batch was the most crucial batch; if they failed, then Elder Hayate wouldn't allow them to waste the ingredients set aside for the tenth batch.

If that ninth batch failed, then... their test-taking effort would be a complete failure.

Filled with apprehension and nervousness, everyone focused completely on their ninth batches... Each and every step received complete and utter attention; those who had already met the minimum requirement wanted to get a better final score, and for those who hadn't met the minimum, they had to do everything they could right now to pass.

Naruto, on the other hand... was sitting there holding the final medicinal plant. Apparently, he was considering some important question about that plant, as his brow was furrowed thoughtfully. By now... few people were paying attention to him.

The eighteenth hour seemed to pass very slowly. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for. Soon, rumbling sounds echoed out. As for the disciples who had not succeeded at all, they rose to their feet, faces pale, chuckling bitterly. After clasping hands to Elder Hayate, they dejectedly left the square.

One by one, the disciples left, until soon, only six people remained concocting medicine.

Soon, rumbling sounds echoed out from the six test-takers' pill furnaces, and yet a medicinal aroma emitted from only one of those furnaces, the one belonging to Iwashi.

Iwashi's hands were clenched tightly into fists, he was panting, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He was more excited right now than he had ever been before; he had met the minimum requirements. With two successes, he passed!

Some people were excited, some were depressed. Five people had failed, two of them being disciples who hadn't succeeded a single time. Sighing, they rose to their feet and left.

Tokuma couldn't be more on edge. He was glaring at Iwashi, heart filled with bitterness and anxiety. Then he looked with bloodshot eyes at the final set of medicinal plants.

Ryuzetsu frowned, then closed her eyes to think. Amai felt the least pressure of all, and yet, he wasn't happy to be stuck with only three successes. He wanted to break through to become Chosen.

"The last batch!" People took deep breaths as they looked out at the square, and the five people left behind. Amai. Ryuzetsu. Iwashi. Tokuma. And of course... Naruto.

Three of them had already met the minimum requirements. Tokuma had one chance left to do so. As for Naruto... people weren't even paying attention to him, and were actually beginning to wonder why he had even come. After eighteen hours, all he had done was study the medicine formula and the medicinal plants. Some people were even wondering... if he had just come to be a part of the excitement.

It was with unprecedented seriousness that Ryuzetsu and the others began to focus completely on their tenth and last batch of spirit medicine. As everyone looked on with fixed gazes, the twentieth hour slowly passed.

Rumbling sounds could then be heard from Iwashi's pill furnace, after which black smoke rose up. He sighed. He had failed in the final batch, but at least he still met the minimum requirements.

In almost the exact same instant that Iwashi failed, Tokuma's pill furnace began to emit a medicinal aroma. His wasn't the only one. Medicinal aromas were also spreading out from Ryuzetsu's and Han Jianye's!

In that instant, all three of their faces lit up with joy as they realized that they had succeeded!

"I did it! Four sticks of Inkspirit Incense! I took the top spot!" Amai shot to his feet and his excited laughter began to ring out in all directions. Ryuzetsu sighed in relief. Although she hadn't reached the level of a Chosen, three successes was still astonishing.

Tokuma felt almost as if he had been resurrected from the dead, and began to laugh heartily.

As of this moment, the feelings that the four of them had been suppressing for the last two hours finally erupted out.

"What a difficult test! The fact that Amai could succeed four times despite this level of difficulty shows that he really is a Chosen!"

"Ryuzetsu got three successes, Tokuma and Iwashi both got two... They all met the requirements to be promoted. I bet if the test wasn't so hard, they all would probably have been able to get four successes!"

Even as everyone began to discuss the matter, as the friends of the test-takers were cheering in support, as Elder Hayate nodded approvingly at Amai and was about to announce that the test was over... Naruto moved.

After fully studying the final plant, and resolving all of the issues he had, Naruto continued to completely ignore all of the clamor around him. He had focused hard on the information in the jade slip, had become completely immersed in the Dao of plants and vegetation, and had even entered a sort of trance.

Nothing short of the crash of thunder and lightning would be able to break his concentration, nor did he even glance at the results of the others' concocting efforts.

Of course, that attracted the attention of some in the audience, including Sora. Curious expressions could be seen on their faces as they looked over, clearly wondering why Naruto had spent so much longer in his initial observations.

"This Naruto is just too slow. Everyone else is finished and he's just starting. Shouldn't the test be over by now?"

"Hmm. You know what, I don't think I ever heard anything about the journeyman apothecary promotion test... having a time limit..." It wasn't clear who exactly said that last sentence, but when people heard it, they began to turn toward Elder Hayate, blank expressions on their faces.

Elder Hayate hesitated for a moment, but the truth was that the journeyman apothecary promotion test really didn't have any time limit. Therefore, he continued to stand there watching Naruto concoct medicine.

Amai wasn't worried at all, and was even chuckling coldly, eyes flashing with disdain. At first, he had been worried that Naruto would be a formidable opponent, but after the way this part of the test had played out, he was convinced that there was no way Naruto could surpass him.

Ryuzetsu's brow was furrowed; Naruto rubbed her wrong no matter how she considered the matter.

Naruto's movements were blindingly fast, and his eyes glowed brightly. To him, the entire world consisted only of that pill furnace. The various medicinal plants rapidly changed form as he kneaded them into pastes, broke them down into powders, or made other preparations. Then, after putting all of the ingredients into the pill furnace, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed at the pill furnace, causing the earthflame underneath to burn brightly.

Two hours flew by, and soon a strong medicinal aroma emanated out from the pill furnace. Naruto waved his hand, causing a four-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense to fly out. As soon as it landed in his palm, he examined it, and then frowned.

Everyone in the audience had very serious expressions on their faces, and Elder Hayate's eyes were flickering. However, just when everyone was expecting Naruto to start his second batch, they realized that instead, he was simply... studying the incense.

"What is he doing?"

"He succeeded! Why hasn't he started the second batch?"

Everyone was looking on, stunned.

As for Naruto, he was looking at the Inkspirit Incense, feeling quite unsatisfied. Although he had indeed succeeded, he knew that based on the ingredients he had used, the incense should have been seven inches long.

"What went wrong?" he thought. Then he contemplated the matter... for six hours.

Just when everyone was getting to the point where they were running out of patience, Naruto's eyes glittered, and he produced a second set of ingredients and began to concoct. Everyone in the audience anxiously watched him work.

Yet again, two hours passed. This time, the medicinal aroma was even stronger than before as a five-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense flew out.

Ryuzetsu's face flickered, and shocked expressions could be seen on the faces of both Tokuma and Iwashi. As for Amai, his eyes flickered, but his expression remained calm. Only he knew that, inwardly, he was starting to get anxious.

Of course, what made him anxious was not just that Naruto had succeeded two times, but that... he might continue to succeed!

Under the shocked gazes of all present, Naruto flicked his sleeve, sending the third set of medicinal plant ingredients out. His third batch was now beginning, and all of the Outer Sect disciples were watching closely.

Two hours passed in silence. Suddenly, the pill furnace shuddered, and a medicinal aroma even stronger than before filled the area as a six-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense appeared!

"Three times in a row! How... could this be happening!?"

"How is Naruto doing this? Could it be that he has actually concocted Inkspirit Incense before?!" Cries of astonishment could be heard because of the successive successes; people could hardly believe what they were seeing.

Ryuzetsu's breath came in ragged pants as she glared at Naruto, waves of shock battering her heart. Tokuma and Iwashi were both gaping dully.

"Three in a row..." Amai thought, clenching his hands into fists. His eyes were now completely bloodshot. "He must already be familiar with Inkspirit Incense. Well, he got lucky with this batch, but the next batch will be a different story!"

Just when everyone was expecting Naruto to start his fourth batch, he held up the six-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense, then frowned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Then everyone waited... for ten hours.

If this sort of thing had happened with the first batch, everyone would have left. But after having seen Naruto succeed three times in a row, they knew that a fourth success would push him past everyone else to the same level as Amai. That was something everyone was itching to see happen.

"Naruto takes way too long! It's only a tier-1 spirit medicine! Why does he need so much time to think about it!?"

Of course, Ryuzetsu and Amai were the most invested of all, and were staring dead at Naruto, completely unwilling to leave.

It was at this point that Naruto's eyes glittered brightly. His eyebrows shot up as he waved both hands, sending plants and vegetation flying out as he began his fourth batch. Everyone was now looking on in complete excitement.

Two hours later, rumbling sounds could be heard, but not the type that indicated a failure had been met. Instead, a powerful blast of medicinal aroma spread out, filling the entire area in the blink of an eye. Then, astonishingly, a seven-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense appeared!

The fourth batch was another success!

The audience went wild.

"Four in a row!"

"I can't believe something like this actually happened... Just how many times will Naruto actually succeed!?"

"Two successes are the requirement to pass, and four makes you Chosen! If I remember correctly, Elder Sister Kurenai Kurenai got seven successes back when she was promoted!" As the crowd clamored, Ryuzetsu's face turned very unsightly. Although she was aware that Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation far surpassed her own, to see that such a vast gap existed between them in terms of medicine concocting filled her with mixed emotions.

As for Amai, he was grinding his teeth, and his hands were clenched tightly into balls. He was trembling, and couldn't bear to believe what he was seeing. And yet, everything was happening right in front of him, making it impossible for him to deny it.

"Four successes! Four successes has to be his limit. The rest will definitely be failures!"

Everyone in the audience was now buzzing with speculation regarding how many total successes Naruto would achieve. But then, they realized that Naruto was simply staring at the Inkspirit Incense.

"What is this guy doing? He's doing more studying?!" Although they were a bit chagrined, the audience members weren't about to leave now. Instead, they sat there, waiting and watching, looking forward to seeing the results of Naruto's next study session.

Sixteen hours passed before Naruto finally took a deep breath. His eyes were completely bloodshot. Although no one else realized it, the fourth batch he had just produced had come very close to failing.

"This Inkspirit Incense is much, much harder than any of the other spirit medicines I've concocted in the past." Naruto was prudent and meticulous. After thinking back to all the other batches he had produced so far, he identified what the problem was, and after confirming that he could prevent it from happening, began a fifth batch.

He was completely oblivious to any of the conversations around him; when he was concocting medicine, his level of focus exceeded imagination. It didn't matter what anybody said, he wouldn't begin to concoct unless he was absolutely confident in succeeding.

Everyone in the audience had been sitting here for so long that they were completely exhausted, and were having trouble staying focused, and yet they were now all craning their necks to see what was happening.

It didn't take long before more rumbling sounds could be heard, and a medicinal aroma spread out in all directions, a fragrant odor that sent shock into the hearts of everyone present.

The fifth batch was a success!

Amai sat there dumbfounded, heart overwhelmed with bitterness. After a long moment, he simply sighed quietly.

This was the moment the crowd had been waiting for. Naruto waved his sleeve and began the sixth batch.

Before long, more rumbling could be heard, and smell of incense spread out. The sixth batch was a success!

Naruto's eyes glittered. Not pausing for even a moment, he pulled out more medicinal plants and started his seventh batch. However, in almost the exact same instant that he started the seventh batch, an acrid odor suddenly wafted out. It was very faint, and could only be detected by Naruto, and yet it caused his heart to begin pounding.

He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed out, reducing the earthflame temperature. After manipulating the ingredients with the greatest care, he succeeded with the seventh batch!

However, this stick was only three inches long, and contained many impurities, leaving it on the verge of being low-grade, almost toxic. However, as far as the audience was concerned, that still counted as a success!

At this point, the audience was completely and utterly wrapped up in what was happening. Everyone was panting in excitement, especially Sora, whose eyes glowed with disbelief.

"Seven successes... Heavens! Naruto actually succeeded seven times!"

"He's just as good as Elder Sister Kurenai Kurenai! I remember hearing that the only person to ever exceed eight successes was a disciple from years ago named Wang Qingshan, an Elder Brother who is now in the supreme position of being in the legacy echelon!"

"Succeeding nine times... is completely unheard-of. Nobody has ever done it!"

The audience was in an uproar, but Naruto was sitting there quietly, looking at the pill furnace. His eyes were bloodshot, and by this point, he wasn't even thinking about the test. He was immersed in thoughts of concocting medicine, and was analyzing the near failure from all angles. Next, he pulled out the ingredients and began to examine them again to try to determine the cause.

"This spirit plant is called inkfruit, and the ink elements within each one are slightly different..." He held the inkfruit in his hand and continued to observe and analyze it.

Time passed, and more wry smiles could be seen on the faces of the audience as they realized what was happening. Although they were excited, Naruto was so thoughtfully slow in medicine concocting that it could make one bristle with anger.

And yet, nobody was willing to leave. The Outer Sect disciples all sat there cross-legged, some of them meditating as they waited for Naruto. Others were so exhausted that they leaned up against nearby boulders to sleep.

A strange expression could be seen on the face of Elder Hayate. Coughing dryly, he sat there cross-legged, waiting.

Of course, Ryuzetsu and Amai weren't going to leave. Although Naruto left them physically and mentally exhausted, they had no choice but to sit there quietly.

Everything was very quiet, except for the occasional snores which echoed out. And yet, people were still waiting, and watching Naruto. Sora was among their number.

Hours passed, during which some people awoke from their sleep to find Naruto sitting there in contemplation. They couldn't help but sigh.

"I can't believe he's still studying."

"The sun is rising..."

Eventually, after more than twenty hours had passed, Naruto suddenly looked up, and his eyes were completely bloodshot.

Naruto was panting. By this point, he was focused to the point of tuning everything else out. He wasn't even worried about whether or not he would succeed. His eyes were bloodshot, and his mind was occupied with only one thing: how to be completely and utterly confident!

Unless he was totally confident, he wouldn't start the next batch!

When it came to concocting medicine, his cautious and prudent personality was fully on display.

However, even after all the thought he had put into it, he still couldn't figure out how to solve the problem without first standardizing the ink elements within the Inkfruit. Although that wouldn't count as changing the medicine formula, it would be a slight adjustment to it. After a moment of thought, Naruto's eyes flickered with determination.

"The only way is to adjust the formula on a case-by-case basis!" He quickly crushed the Inkfruit.

A squishing sound could be heard as juice flowed out, although Naruto didn't send it into the pill furnace. Instead, he congealed it in the air in front of him, then began to make adjustments here and there.

Most people in the audience were surprised, but didn't really understand what he was doing. Even Naruto himself didn't really think that his actions were anything special; he just felt that this was the best course of action considering the circumstances.

However, Elder Hayate had opened his eyes, and a gleam of shock flickered deep therein. Although he had been a bit surprised that Naruto had succeeded seven times in a row, what he was doing now was far more shocking.

"This Naruto is actually trying to adjust the medicine formula! Incredible! No wonder the peak lord told me to keep an eye on him while he was away from the mountain!" Elder Hayate continued to observe Naruto silently.

A moment later, Naruto waved his hand, flushing away the extra ink elements, leaving behind a drop about the size of a fingernail. After sending it into the pill furnace, he produced the rest of the medicinal plant ingredients and then began his eighth batch!

The pill furnace instantly turned bright red. This time, it didn't take two hours. After enough time passed for two incense sticks to burn, the pill furnace trembled, and a medicinal aroma spread out. The eighth batch had succeeded!

Elder Hayate looked at the pill furnace, and what he saw was a seven-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense that was black with violet specks!

"That's almost mid-grade!" Elder Hayate thought, his eyes shining brightly.

Naruto could also tell that this stick of Inkspirit Incense was different than the others. Although he was initially confused, he suddenly realized why all of the other spirit medicines he had produced before were low-grade.

"The medicine formula isn't standardized... If you adjust things based on your current needs, you can concoct... mid-grade spirit medicines or higher!" Naruto suddenly felt as if the world had been opened up to him. Feeling very excited, and before even waiting for the crowd to break out into an uproar, he started his ninth batch!

Everyone was panting, and nobody was talking. They were all completely and utterly shaken. They might have been excited before, but now that they had personally witnessed Naruto succeed eight times in a row, they were in a state of complete and utter incredulity.

Not only had he surpassed Kurenai, he was now on almost the exact same level as the legacy echelon cultivator Wang Qingshan!

Before everyone could recover from their shock, Naruto rapidly went about concocting the next batch. He only used the time it takes an incense stick to burn before rumbling sounds could be heard from the pill furnace, and a powerful blast of medicinal aroma spread out. The ninth batch... was a success!

"This is unheard-of!"

"Nobody has ever succeeded nine times, and especially not with Inkspirit Incense! Naruto spent an infuriatingly long time thinking, but... but his success rate is completely astonishing!"

Sora's mind was spinning, and his jaw hung wide open. Ryuzetsu felt her heart being battered by waves of astonishment, and couldn't help but think back to the competition, and how Naruto had analyzed that grafted plant.

Amai simply sighed bitterly. Although he was disappointed, he was no longer enraged. If Naruto had surpassed him by a small amount, he might have continued to pursue a grudge, but now, he had to admit that he had lost...

"With only one more success, Elder Brother Naruto will do something nobody has ever done, not even in ancient times! He... is going to pull off a miracle!"

"Boy was it worth it to come watch the test this time. We got stuck here for a few days, but it was definitely worth it!"

As of this moment, Naruto was the center of all attention. Everyone was panting, and their eyes gleamed with intense anticipation. Even Elder Hayate felt completely shocked, and was staring with wide eyes.

Finally, Naruto moved. His eyes shone with focus as he produced the final set of ingredients. After organizing them into the order that he would use them, he began to feed them into the pill furnace, then performed a double-handed incantation gesture to stoke the earthflame.

Time passed in complete silence. The only thing the audience could hear was the beat of their own hearts as they waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn...

An intense rumbling sound could be heard from within the pill furnace. No smoke of failure poured out, and yet, neither did a medicinal aroma. Everyone was shocked.

"Did he fail?" Sora thought, so nervous that his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth.

Naruto stared in shock, but then he suddenly realized what was most likely happening, and his eyes began to shine.

It was at this point that everyone watching could see a scintillating light shining out from the joints and cracks in the pill furnace. Elder Hayate suddenly leapt forward to peer into the pill furnace, within which was a one-inch-long stick of Inkspirit Incense that was completely violet. His eyes danced with elation.

"Mid-grade!" he said, laughing loudly. Flicking his sleeve, he collected up all of the pill furnaces and sticks of Inkspirit Incense which had been concocted.

"The final round of the test is over. Naruto, Amai, Ryuzetsu, Tokuma, Iwashi, you five have all been promoted to journeyman apothecary! Naruto, you take the top spot and... are awarded 5,000 merit points!"

The crowd dissolved into wild commotion, the sound of which echoed out in all directions.

"Ten successes! He got ten successes!"

"Plus, the final batch produced... a mid-grade product! He's only a journeyman apothecary, but can already concoct mid-grade spirit medicine!"

Sora, Ryuzetsu, Amai, and everyone else present were completely stunned.

It was somewhat grudgingly that Naruto watched the only mid-grade spirit medicine he had ever concocted be whisked away by Elder Hayate. He was of a mind to give voice to his discontent, but Elder Hayate seemed too imposing, and was clearly not going to return the incense.

Naruto sighed and left the square, exhausted. As he walked through the crowd, people looked at him with excitement and admiration. Obviously, the fact that he had succeeded ten times in a row was no fluke, and was something that an ordinary disciple could never do.

"Congratulations on pulling off a miracle, Elder Brother Naruto! This is completely unprecedented!"

"Congratulations, Elder Brother Naruto, I truly admire you!"

"Elder Brother Naruto, I have some questions about plants and vegetation, do you think you could help a Junior Sister out...?"

Naruto blinked. He had been so engrossed in medicine concocting that he had completely tuned everything else out. After seeing what a commotion he had caused, he quickly clasped hands and bowed to the audience.

At the moment, he felt nothing short of elated. Back when no one knew who the little turtle was, he had never been able to find the right opportunity to make a big debut. Now that he had, he was experiencing exactly the feeling he had hoped for.

As for the female disciples who were asking for his help, Naruto instantly nodded in agreement. Furthermore, as for all of the disciples who were calling him Elder Brother Naruto, he asked them to call him Naruto, lest people be unaware of his full name.

Just as he was feeling exceptionally proud of himself, he suddenly caught sight of a young man in the crowd, glaring at him. Naruto instantly recognized him as one of Kurenai's devoted fans. Naruto's face flickered, and he quickly extricated himself from the crowd and sped off.

After hurrying all the way back to his log cabin, he realized that he was feeling a bit dizzy. Having spent days concocting medicine, he was completely drained, and instantly fell asleep on his bed.

He slept for two days straight.

In the afternoon of the third day, he opened his eyes, feeling completely refreshed. Then, he thought back to how he had personally concocted a mid-grade spirit medicine, and how Elder Hayate had then taken it away. Sighing, he took a look at his identity medallion to confirm that 5,000 merit points had been added, and then felt a little bit better.

With those merit points, he could continue to work at concocting medicine, which would also help him cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique. Next, he made a quick trip out of his residence to retrieve seven or eight medicine formulas from the sect. After picking one for vital energy replenishment, he spent some merit points to get a large quantity of medicinal plants.

The entire process went quickly, but he was jumpy with fear the entire time. Wherever he went, it seemed people recognized him, and he even noticed some of Kurenai's fans, who glared at him with cold smiles, then produced jade slips to transmit messages to their cohorts.

Naruto nervously got all the medicinal plants he needed, then headed, not to his courtyard residence, but to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion. Using the remainder of his merit points, he bought an entire year's worth of time, and then holed up.

"I was a bit careless this time... Hmph. Just wait 'til I come out. I'm going to make a big breakthrough in my Undying Iron Skin, and if you people mess with me... Well, if you come at me one at a time, I'll take you out. If you gang up... then I'll just call for the peak lord!" Snorting coldly, he began to concoct medicine there in the workshop.

He could well imagine how, during those two days in which he had slept, word of him being promoted to journeyman apothecary had spread. In fact, it wouldn't take long before the entire Fragrant Cloud Peak was talking about it.

And of course, that was exactly what happened. Furthermore, many people were already speculating that Naruto... was the little turtle!

There were too many coincidences for there to be any other explanation. Not only had he shown amazing talent with both plants and vegetation and spirit creatures, but Naruto had concocted a mid-grade spirit medicine. He had even passed the journeyman apothecary test with ten successes in a row.

Kurenai's fans immediately sprang into action, as did Ryuzetsu's fans. However, none of them realized how cautious Naruto was, so much so that he would never return to his residence, but would instead stay at the Medicine Concocting Pavilion. Then they found out that he had purchased an entire year's worth of time in one of the workshops, and they were instantly enraged.

However, the Medicine Concocting Pavilion wasn't a place that they could just barge into. Furthermore, Naruto's new status struck fear into their hearts. Although they couldn't really do anything to him, if they roughed him up to teach him a lesson, the sect wouldn't care. After all, people who provoked those above their skill level would get what they deserved.

However, there was nothing to be done now, so the group which had gathered to catch Naruto dispersed begrudgingly. However, there was one of their number, a pock-faced young man, who looked at the Medicine Concocting Pavilion with a cold smile.

"You think that hiding in there will keep you safe from me? I couldn't care less that you beat up my cousin Ebisu. However, you bullied my beloved Junior Sister Kurenai, and also my most cherished Junior Sister Du. Plus, my favorite of all, Junior Sister Hou, won't stop talking about you. Naruto, you might have talent in plants and vegetation, but killing you won't be any trouble at all for me!" The young man laughed coldly. He was none other than the Inner Sect disciple surnamed Zori, Zori!

Naruto spent one carefree day after another in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, either concocting medicines or cultivating his Undying Live Forever Technique. As the days went by, he truly did advance by leaps and bounds in the Undying Live Forever Technique.

His skin became tougher and more durable, and he could move even faster than before.

"Another two days, and my Undying Iron Skin will be complete!" Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes gleamed with elation.

However, it was on that very night at dusk that, all of a sudden, a green beam of light shot from the Missions Offices toward the Medicine Pavilion. It completely bypassed the protective shields surrounding the pavilion, and appeared right there inside of Naruto's workshop.

Naruto gaped in shock at the command medallion which was now hovering in front of him!


	11. Chapter 11

The command medallion was pitch black, and in the very center was the character "Justice," which emanated a bleak and somber air.

Even as Naruto stared in at it shock, a cold voice echoed out into the workshop.

"Outer Sect disciple Naruto. After an investigation carried out by the Hall of Justice, it has been confirmed that after being in the sect for several years, you have only accomplished a single mission, to raise a spirit plant. Because of this violation of sect rules, you must participate in a mandatory out-of-sect mission, which begins three days from now!"

From the cold and sinister nature of the voice, it seemed apparent that if Naruto refused to comply, he would receive the strictest of punishments!

"The Hall of Justice!" Naruto's eyes bulged, and his heart began to pound. At the same time, the command medallion transformed into a black glow, and then vanished.

Everything was dead quiet. Naruto's face flickered with various emotions as he pulled out his identity medallion. Sure enough, he found that a mandatory mission had been added.

He had completely forgotten about the rule about a minimum number of missions required for disciples on a yearly basis. However, the abrupt arrival of the command medallion from the Hall of Justice was something that Naruto found very odd.

After a moment of thought, he left his workshop, walked out of the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, and headed toward the top of the mountain.

"Something's not right here. Why do I feel like a cold wind is running down my back...? Well, I've been in the sect for years now, and have never taken the initiative to go see the peak lord. I might as well go pay my respects and see if I can figure out what's going on." Naruto was wrapped up in very important thoughts the entire way up the mountain. Eventually, he found Taruho's Daoist assistant, only to discover that Taruho had been out of the sect for several months.

Naruto was feeling very bitter, and very nervous. Instead of returning to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, he went to find Sora. After all, Sora knew everything that was going on in the sect, so perhaps he would have some clue about what was going on.

Sora was still an Outer Sect disciple, and lived on a different part of the mountain than Naruto. By now it was evening, and not very many people were out and about. Soon, Naruto had arrived outside Sora's courtyard residence.

This residence was not as remote as Naruto's, and was clustered together with seven or eight others. Now that it was dark, firelight could be seen shining out from several of the courtyards.

Naruto ducked his head down to make himself inconspicuous. Instead of knocking on the main gate, he flew over the wall, after which he caught sight of Sora bent over a little notebook, writing.

"Sora," he whispered.

Sora was startled, but once he saw who had come, he said, "Oh, hey Elder Brother Naruto."

A bit confused, he rose to his feet and invited Naruto into his room.

"Elder Brother Naruto, weren't you in secluded meditation in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion?" he asked curiously. "What are you doing out here?"

"Sora, what do you know about the Hall of Justice?" Naruto asked immediately.

Seeing the grim expression on Naruto's face, Sora could tell that something was wrong, and quickly responded, "The Hall of Justice? Well, there's a southern hall and a northern hall, who administer the two different parts of the sect. They oversee the Outer Sect disciples and servants, but usually don't do anything unless there's been a serious violation of sect rules.

"If a violation does occur, they have a lot of power. There are all sorts of punishments they can enforce. In fact, they even have the power to execute traitors. Essentially, the Hall of Justice is like a sword hanging over the necks of the Outer Sect disciples, ensuring that none of us ever dare to violate sect rules.

"If someone does, and gets noticed by the Hall of Justice, they'll receive swift and severe punishment...

"Of course, although the Hall of Justice has a lot of power, that power is limited. As long as you don't violate sect rules, then you don't really have to worry about them at all." As usual, Sora went on to give a very detailed description of the Hall of Justice to Naruto, based on everything that he knew.

He even went on to tell Naruto the grisly fates of some of the disciples who had run afoul of the Hall of Justice.

"Five hundred years ago, a traitor rose up within the Spirit Stream Sect. The Hall of Justice tracked him down for seven days before finally killing him and wiping out his soul!

"Three hundred years ago, an Outer Sect disciple flagrantly violated sect rules. Although the Hall of Justice gave him a chance to repent, he ignored it. In the end, the Hall of Justice reported the matter to the sect, and the disciple was punished in the Blackwind Abyss, where to this very day, he is constantly scourged by biting winds.

"A hundred years ago, the Land of Waves planned an armed rebellion. Despite warnings from the Hall of Justice, they refused to back down. When they finally made their move, the Hall of Justice executed all the cultivators from the Land of Waves, sparing only the mortals."

As Naruto listened to all of this, his expression grew more unsightly than ever, and his heart began to pound.

"Are you telling me that normally the Hall of Justice gives a warning first, and resorts to serious punishment only if you don't repent?"

"Yeah, exactly. That's one of the limitations placed upon the Hall of Justice. Otherwise, they would have far too much power." By this point, Sora had guessed that the Hall of Justice must have set their eyes on Naruto. However, matters pertaining to the Hall of Justice were sensitive, and Sora was intelligent enough to look out for his own interests. Therefore, although he told Naruto what he knew, he didn't dare to get any more involved than that.

In the end, just before Naruto was about to leave, Sora hesitated for a moment as he thought about Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation, and then suddenly lowered his voice and asked, "Elder Brother Naruto, do you happen to know an Inner Sect disciple from Green Crest Peak named... Zori? He's Ebisu's older cousin, and he also happens to be a member of the Hall of Justice."

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Naruto left. As he walked along the path in the sect, he looked up at the moon and thought about everything Sora had said, which only served to confirm what he had already surmised. In the end, he sighed.

"I didn't offend anyone in the sect!" he thought, clenching his jaw. "Other than Ebisu, there's only the fans of Kurenai... Zori. Zori!" After returning to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, he sat down cross-legged in the workshop and looked at the pill furnace. Then his face twitched.

"It's pretty obvious that me failing to complete a sect mission every year is just an excuse. Something like that wouldn't be noticed unless someone specifically looked into it, and even still, it isn't a very big deal. Besides, I couldn't possibly be the only person in the sect who has done that. Since Zori is a member of the Hall of Justice, he's using his public office to avenge private grudges!" After more thought, Naruto's eyes were growing increasingly bloodshot.

"If I go on this mission, he'll definitely make sure something happens to me at some point. Why else would he go through all the trouble of setting this up? However, he would still have to be careful to make sure the sect doesn't find out. Overall, I still have the initiative.

"If I ignore the mission order, then I would be falling right into his hands. He would be able to take control of the initiative, using his status in the Hall of Justice to directly punish me!"

Naruto thought about it from many directions, but there was no perfect solution. Eventually, he took out his identity medallion and examined the mission. It only took a moment before he realized there was a familiar name in the mission description.

"Amano?" Naruto's eyes went wide as he thought back to when he had first become an Outer Sect disciple, and the detailed introduction to the sect Amano had given him. Then, he closed his eyes to think more. This mission didn't seem to be a difficult one. A few years ago, Amano had accepted a mission outside of the sect, and would check back in every month with news. That was a common arrangement for disciples who took on long-term missions.

However, two months ago, contact was lost, and no news had come back.

Therefore, this new mission had been handed down. Three Outer Sect disciples would be sent to investigate, with no specific instructions regarding the clues they were to gather.

Search missions like this were common within the sect. All the disciples had to do was investigate a bit, turn up some clues, and then come back to the sect to let someone follow up further.

Furthermore, for an Outer Sect disciple to go missing wasn't a very important matter as far as the sect was concerned. Of course, they were still disciples, so the matter had to be handled eventually.

That was why missions like this existed in the first place.

Naruto thought about it further, and after weighing all the options and facts, clenched his teeth.

"Fine, I'll take the mission." Panting, eyes bloodshot, he immediately began to concoct more medicine. If he was going to go out of the sect on a mission, then he needed to have a major breakthrough with his Undying Iron Skin.

Two days later, Naruto's body was shaking, and his skin was vibrating. Suddenly, a wave of blackness spread out across him, which quickly vanished. However, if you looked closely, you could just barely see red streaks of light flashing across him.

"The black is iron, the red is bronze!"

When he pushed down on his skin, a sound like ringing metal echoed out. Next, he shot to his feet and confirmed that he was much faster than before.

After a few more tests, he leaped up into the air and pinched his thumb and index finger together. There were no cracking sounds this time, but rather muffled booms. They weren't very loud, and yet Naruto could tell that this move of his was at least twice as powerful as before.

"Breakthrough with my Undying Iron Skin!" he thought excitedly. As of this moment, he was a bit more confident regarding the mission.

"It's too bad I can only concoct tier-1 spirit medicine appropriate for the fifth level of Chakra Condensation and lower." Naruto stood there in the workshop feeling a bit disappointed. However, time was limited, and he simply couldn't produce the type of tier-2 spirit medicine appropriate for the eighth level of Chakra Condensation and lower.

Because of that, his cultivation base couldn't progress very much, and remained in the great circle of the sixth level of Chakra Condensation.

"Tomorrow at dawn I leave the sect..." he thought anxiously. This would be his first time truly leaving the sect since he had joined, and he didn't feel safe at all. In fact, he even took out the shield he had acquired from Ebisu and performed a threefold spirit enhancement on it. That didn't leave him feeling very safe, though. Next, he performed spirit enhancements on the leather coats he had worn in the competition.

After more thought, he went out in the middle of the night and found Big Fatty Choji, to borrow his big black wok that supposedly had an earthflame spell formation built into it. Even still, he didn't feel at ease. However, there was nothing more to be done. Looking very anxious, he returned, not to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, but his courtyard, where he waited for the sun to rise.

"Zori, you just wait until I get to Foundation Establishment. Then I'll show you a thing or two!" Naruto was more nervous than ever, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He was scared of dying, after all, and now that he was no longer a newcomer to the sect, he was well aware of how the cultivation world worked.

For the entire night, his imagination went wild as he thought about all the bad things that could happen, until eventually... the sun rose.

At dawn, when the first ray of sunlight poked out into the sky, Naruto felt his identity medallion vibrating. He stood there at the front of his courtyard, looked back at what had been his home for the past two years, and let out a long sigh.

"I'm definitely going to need to be very careful. I absolutely must not lose my poor little life..." Naruto had a very anxious look on his face. He had eight layers of leather coats on, and was wearing Big Fatty Choji's huge black wok on his back. Although he was actually relatively skinny, having dressed up in this fashion made him look almost spherical.

With a very serious look, Naruto left Fragrant Cloud Peak and headed toward the main gate that marked the border of the south bank. On the way, the numerous disciples who looked at him all stared in shock at his unusual getup.

He scowled miserably the entire time, and whenever he ran into people he knew, he would simply wave goodbye to them. Soon he was approaching the main gate, whereupon he saw two people who had arrived ahead of him. One of them was a young man sitting cross-legged in meditation. The other was a young woman who was pacing back and forth in front of the gate, but who currently had her back to him, and yet looked familiar.

"Ryuzetsu?" he thought, a look of shock appearing on his face.

It was at this point that Ryuzetsu also caught sight of him, and her jaw dropped. Then she noticed what he was wearing, and her brow furrowed.

"You're the last person in the team going to investigate Elder Brother Amano's whereabouts?" she asked.

"Yeah, what a coincidence..." he replied with a dry cough. Then he looked from Ryuzetsu over toward the young man. Although his face was expressionless, a murderous aura rippled off of him, and as soon as Naruto looked over at him, he opened his eyes and looked back, an enigmatic half-smile on his face.

Naruto's heart twitched. After analyzing the matter, he had come to the conclusion that the easiest way for Zori to do something to him was to place a friend within the mission group. Then, after they all left the sect, that friend could strike at him secretly.

At the moment, he found both Ryuzetsu and this young man to be worthy of suspicion. And yet, he acted completely at ease, and even smiled widely at the young man.

"Naruto at your service," he said. "Elder Brother, you are…?"

The young man smiled back and replied, "Waraji of Green Crest Peak."

Naruto quickly clasped hands in respect. "Oh, Elder Brother Waraji, I should have known it was you. At first glance you're obviously an extraordinary individual. This is my first mission outside of the sect, so I really hope you can show me how it's done, Elder Brother Waraji." It only took a moment for Naruto to assess that Waraji's cultivation base was at the seventh level of Chakra Condensation.

"No problem. You flatter me." A flicker of scorn passed through Waraji's eyes. The only reason he'd agreed to take the mission was that Inner Sect disciple Zori had promised him a lucrative reward to secretly kill Naruto.

As far as he was concerned, that wouldn't be difficult at all. All he had to do was be careful and make it look like an accident; Naruto was as good as dead.

The only thing he had to be careful about was to make sure that Ryuzetsu didn't see. Of course, he was mostly convinced that Ryuzetsu had taken the mission for the same reason he had, because of Zori.

As for Ryuzetsu, she was currently frowning. She had never imagined that accepting a mission outside the sect would result in her being stuck with one of the people she despised the most. After all, no one had forced her to take this mission; she had selected it on her own. Although there might be some danger associated with it, it was a relatively simple mission with a hefty reward of merit points.

She had been stuck in the great circle of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation for some time now, and needed some Cloudsoaring Incense to break through, which of course required merit points. As soon as she thought about Cloudsoaring Incense, her revulsion for Naruto stirred.

"The lily-livered rat!" she thought, glaring at Naruto in disgust. She especially despised his sphere-like appearance with all the clothes and the black wok, which made it more obvious than ever that he feared death.

Snorting coldly, she completely ignored Naruto and turned toward Waraji to clasp hands and bow.

"Elder Brother Waraji, now that we're all here, please produce the windskiff. The sooner we get this mission done, the sooner we can come back."

Waraji gave a slight smile, then slapped his bag of holding, causing a white beam of light to fly out. A blast of wind could be felt as the beam transformed into a small white ship, about six meters long.

Fluctuations of spiritual power emanated off of the ship, transforming into an extraordinary pressure.

Naruto looked it over and immediately blurted, "Elder Brother Waraji, what's that?"

This was his first time seeing anything like this. As the ship hovered there in midair, it was obvious that it was some type of vehicle. Even as Ryuzetsu's eyes flickered with scorn, Waraji smiled.

"This is a windskiff. When missions require us to go some distance away from the sect, we can rent ships like this from the sect to make things easier. We can save some of our own spiritual power, at the cost of some spirit stones." With that, he leaped up into the air and settled down into the ship.

Ryuzetsu quickly followed, as did Naruto. The ship wasn't very big, and was somewhat cramped, but there was still plenty of room for the three of them. Naruto sat down in the very back and began to study ship even more closely. The more he looked at it, the more he realized that it truly was an incredible item.

"One of these days," he murmured, "I'm going to get one of these for myself."

Seeing Naruto looking like a complete country bumpkin, Ryuzetsu couldn't hold back from sarcastically remarking, "Even if you sold yourself into slavery you couldn't afford one!"

Naruto looked over at Ryuzetsu, measured her up, then nodded.

"True. But if I sold you, I could definitely afford one."

"YOU!" Ryuzetsu's phoenix-like eyes went wide, and she was just about to say something more when Waraji sent the windskiff flying off into the distance in a beam of prismatic light.

As they sped along at top speed, whistling through the air, a shield sprang up around the ship, creating a barrier against the wind. Although they could hear the wind buffeting the shield, the inside of the ship was very calm.

Meanwhile, back on Fragrant Cloud Peak, in the Journeyman Apothecary Hall, Elder Hayate, who had been in charge of the promotion test, was looking at a jade slip and frowning slightly.

"The Hall of Justice circumvented Fragrant Cloud Peak to force Naruto into accepting an outside mission?" After examining the jade slip a bit further, his frown faded away. After examining the details of the mission, he realized that although there might be some danger involved, it was nothing deadly.

Then he thought about what Taruho had mentioned about Naruto's personality. "If the kid's a bit lazy, then some punishment isn't uncalled for."

Finally, he put the jade slip down and continued to concoct medicine.

At the same time, Zori stood outside his immortal's cave in the Inner Sect, watching the ship flying off into the distance, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

"With Waraji's cultivation base, secretly killing Naruto should be as easy as flipping over his hand. Naruto... you might have exceptional skill with plants and vegetation, but unfortunately, you'll never have a chance to do anything with it. You're dead!" A sinister gleam appeared deep within Zori's eyes. Smiling, he turned and headed back into his immortal's cave.

The azure sky stretched out in all directions. Naruto sat there on the ship, feeling somewhat nervous, but at the same time looking out excitedly as the scenery changed.

Off in the distance he saw numerous mountain peaks that looked like swords sticking up into the sky, part of a mountain range that looked like a slumbering dragon. There was also... a massive, shocking river!

"The Heavenspan River..." he said, taking a deep breath. After becoming an Outer Sect disciple, he had done a lot of research, and had learned that the entire cultivation world relied on the Heavenspan River.

It was actually the source of all spiritual energy.

That was why all of the sects were located in areas near it. Furthermore, the further you went into the Upper Reaches of the river, the stronger the spiritual energy was.

Although the Spirit Stream Sect was technically in the Lower Reaches, even that position had allowed them to stand strong and tall for ten thousand years. According to what Naruto had read, the Spirit Stream Sect hadn't always existed in its current position. It had previously been located in the delta region. But then an extraordinary patriarch had appeared among the countless sects and cultivator clans there. After distinguishing himself in intense fighting, he gained the approval of a higher ranking sect, and thus earned the qualifications to establish his own sect in the Lower Reaches.

"Supposedly, the sects in the Upper Reaches of the Heavenspan River are so powerful that the Spirit Stream Sect can't even compare to them. Furthermore, according to the legends... there are even more terrifying sects at the source of the river." Naruto forced himself to calm down, and reminded himself that he needed to be extra careful in this mission.

Off in the distance, the Heavenspan River looked golden, almost like a huge churning sea. Furthermore, hugging the river were four towering mountain peaks.

"That must be the north bank of the Spirit Stream Sect," Naruto thought. Also visible was the main peak of the Spirit Stream Sect, which arched over the Heavenspan River like a huge bridge!

"Mount Daoseed!" Naruto had actually seen all of this when Taruho had first brought him to the Spirit Stream Sect. However, at that time he had been a mere mortal. Now that he was an Outer Sect disciple, he got a completely different feeling when looking at it.

The ship shot away from the sect at top speed, following the rippling water beneath as they headed deeper into the Lower Reaches.

"Junior Sister Ryuzetsu, Junior Brother Naruto, I presume both of you have already examined the details of the mission," Waraji said coolly, his voice so light that it was almost hard to hear. "We're heading to an area in the Lower Reaches of the Heavenspan River called the Fallenstar Mountains. Junior Brother Amano's last message came from that area. The Fallenstar Mountains mark the boundary of the Spirit Stream Sect's sphere of influence. The rest of the mountains count as the territory of the Blood Stream Sect.

"We might find ourselves in some danger on this mission. However, by preparing ourselves mentally, and also being as cautious as possible, we will likely avoid any major problems.

"However, our final destination is quite a distance away, and will take quite a few spirit stones to get there. Most of our time on this mission will be spent traveling, but with our windskiff, we will be able to bypass some of the more difficult terrain." With that, a cold gleam flickered in his eyes before he closed them in meditation.

Ryuzetsu ignored Naruto and began to perform breathing exercises.

Naruto felt more vigilant than ever. Despite also sitting cross-legged and closing his eyes, he was really pondering which among these two had been sent by Zori.

"It's unlikely to be Ryuzetsu," he thought. "Which means... there's an eighty to ninety percent chance that it's Waraji!"


	12. Chapter 12

A day later, when the first spirit stone was completely used up, Waraji put the windskiff away, and the three of them stood atop a mountain peak under the evening sky, watching the sun slowly set over the horizon. Soon, darkness blanketed the lands.

At the foot of the mountain, the dense jungle echoed with the roars of animals and wild beasts. The air was very humid.

"After we get past this jungle, we can rest," Waraji said coolly. "What do you two think?" He looked at Ryuzetsu and Naruto.

"It's dark," Naruto pointed out. "That jungle might have some dangerous wild beasts in it; why don't we just fly over it with the windskiff?"

"Take a break on your own, if you want," Ryuzetsu said with a cold snort. "It's just some trees." Not concealing her disdain for Naruto's fear of death, she flashed into motion, heading directly toward the jungle.

A glimmer of scorn stirred deep in Waraji's eyes, but he smiled nonetheless and then shot down the mountain.

Naruto frowned as he watched the two of them leaving. Finally he sighed, and followed them down the mountain toward the jungle, more vigilant than ever.

The humidity increased when they entered the jungle, and there were even some spots which were marshes or bogs. Animals appeared occasionally, but these were three Chakra Condensation cultivators. They didn't slow down at all as they proceeded along, gradually forging their way deeper and deeper into the jungle.

Time passed. Eventually, the night deepened. By the time the moon rose, they were already about halfway to the other side. So far they hadn't encountered any fierce beasts. The trip had gone very smoothly. Naruto was in the rear position, and even the slightest sound or movement would cause him to leap in fright. Ryuzetsu's scorn grew stronger.

"Watch out!" Naruto suddenly blurted, stopping in place with a very uneasy expression on his face.

Ryuzetsu laughed coldly, and was just about to say something sarcastic when all of a sudden, a wild wind blasted toward them, along with an acrid odor. Ryuzetsu's face flickered, and she looked out into the jungle to see countless eyes staring back.

They were bright red, and in almost the exact same instant that she saw them, the sound of flapping wings could be heard. Numerous bats appeared, each one about the size of a hand, flying in their direction.

"Two-headed bats!" exclaimed Waraji. "Their venom dries up the blood and seals the throat! Split up and meet at the mountain peak on the other side of the jungle." Face flickering, Waraji burst into motion, heading off at top speed.

Ryuzetsu's pupils constricted, and she waved her hand in front of her, throwing out a paper talisman. As it burned, a blue light spread out, covering her with a shield and also increasing her speed. She picked another direction and sped off. Looking over her shoulder as she left, she was shocked to find that Naruto had long since disappeared.

Naruto had begun fleeing as soon as the wind kicked up. Of course, Naruto was very careful and perceptive, and was extremely attuned to danger.

Even as he fled, the bats approached, causing a droning sound to fill the air. They quickly split up into three groups, which began to pursue the three disciples.

A cold smile appeared on Waraji's face as he sped through the jungle, and he quickly put away the stick of incense that he had just been holding. That stick of incense was what had attracted the bats, and was also why he had chosen to pass through this jungle on the way to their mission. He had sensed that this would be a likely location to contain two-headed bats.

"The weakest of them are at the third level of Chakra Condensation. Naruto, don't blame me that someone wants you dead." Laughing coldly, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a wooden stick. After blowing a breath of air onto the stick, it ignited with black flames that caused the bats to let out piercing shrieks. Apparently, they hated those flames, and thus instantly dispersed.

Waraji smiled and then continued onward, feeling much more at ease.

As for Naruto, he was speeding along through the jungle being pursued by numerous bats. However, the bats couldn't match his speed, and before long, there was quite a distance between the two of them. Occasionally, a beam of sword light would flash out, and a bat would scream and fall out of the air.

Naruto ran along, and after enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, he looked over his shoulder and frowned.

"It sure was strange for all those bats to suddenly show up," he thought. He walked back a bit and found one of the bats he had killed with a flying sword, and after examining it closely, his eyes gleamed.

"These aren't ordinary two-headed bats, they're violetvein bats! They're just as venomous, but they're different from common two-headed bats in that their fangs are the main ingredient for the tier-2 spirit medicine Bloodburning Incense!

"Back in the sect, you can sell fangs like this for fifty merit points apiece." Naruto was immediately delighted. Not very many people would recognize that these bats were actually listed in the fifth volume of spirit creatures.

Feeling very excited, he began to collect the corpses of the bats. It didn't take long before he had ten bats, from which he began to extract the fangs.

"These bats aren't that strong after all..." he said, chuckling. Soon, a shield sprang up around him, and he began to search through the jungle. Before long, an entire group of violetvein bats was flying toward him.

He quickly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, sending a flying sword bursting out toward the bats. Its speed was incredible, and before they could even get close to him, miserable shrieks filled the air, and numerous bats began to fall to the ground. The few that made it past the sword slammed into his shield and were sent spinning away.

Naruto collected the dead bats. Realizing that he was actually in no danger, he felt more at ease than ever. Puffing his chest out proudly, he continued to search through the jungle.

It was in that fashion that he made his way along, collecting more and more fangs...

Four hours later, Waraji made his way out of the jungle to the appointed meeting spot on the mountain peak. There, he sat down cross-legged, a slight smile on his face as he waited.

Another two hours passed, and Ryuzetsu shot out from the trees, looking very bedraggled. As she sped up the mountain, she looked back anxiously at the dark jungle. Eventually, she reached Waraji, and realized that Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Naruto hasn't come out yet?" she asked.

Waraji sighed and shook his head. "I wish Junior Brother Naruto all the best. Unfortunately, two-headed bats are most active at night. If we go back in looking for him, we would be in a lot of danger." In order to make things look even more realistic, he didn't rest, but instead craned his neck anxiously toward the jungle, as if he were waiting for Naruto to appear.

Ryuzetsu maintained her silence. Although she hated Naruto, she didn't hate him so much that she wished him dead. After all, they were fellow members of the same sect. Finally, she sat down cross-legged and looked down at the jungle, sighing.

Time passed, and soon it was almost dawn.

After waiting through the entire night without seeing Naruto, Ryuzetsu was getting a very uneasy feeling.

Waraji rose to his feet. After having stayed up the entire night, his eyes were bloodshot as he looked dejectedly toward the jungle. "If he hasn't appeared by now, I'm afraid it means that Naruto... has met with disaster. It's all my fault. If I hadn't suggested to go through the jungle, Junior Brother Naruto wouldn't have... ai."

"Elder Brother Waraji, don't blame yourself," Ryuzetsu said. "Who would ever have thought that there would be two-headed bats in this place? Maybe Naruto isn't dead yet. Besides, if he is dead, then as fellow disciples, we should go retrieve his corpse!" She was unsure of exactly what sort of emotions she was experiencing, which was a very strange sensation. Although Naruto annoyed her, she somehow felt disturbed. After all, there was no deep grudge between the two of them.

Waraji sighed and nodded seriously. "You're right, Junior Sister Ryuzetsu. No matter what has happened, we can't give up on him."

With that, the two of them prepared to head back down the mountain to begin the search.

However, it was only a moment later that they caught sight of Naruto strolling out from within the trees, yawning. As soon as he was out of the jungle itself, he stretched lazily.

Ryuzetsu's eyes went wide, and Waraji almost couldn't believe what he was seeing as Naruto casually began to walk up the mountain path.

He almost looked like he had just woken up from a good night's sleep. He seemed excited and energetic, as opposed to Waraji and Ryuzetsu, who were weary from a night without rest.

Soon, Naruto was at the top of the mountain. When he caught sight of Waraji and Ryuzetsu, he hurried over and called out, "Good morning! Elder Brother Waraji, Elder Sister Ryuzetsu, that jungle is way too scary! I almost lost my little life."

Naruto truly had rested well that night. After clearing the entire jungle of bats, not only had he profited handsomely, he'd found the bats' cave, where he had experienced wonderful night of sleep.

An unsightly expression could be seen on Ryuzetsu's face as she glared at Naruto. Snorting coldly, she thought back to the complicated feelings she had felt, and suddenly felt even more annoyed with Naruto.

A cold glitter passed through Waraji's eyes, although his expression was one of joy. "Junior Brother Naruto! I'm so glad to see you safe. We worried about you the entire night."

Naruto chuckled, and although his expression seemed normal, deep within his eyes, a cold gleam flickered.

Soon, the three of them were on their way again, seated in the ship. Considering what had just happened, Naruto suggested that they fly on the ship at night and proceed along on foot during the day. In rare fashion, Ryuzetsu agreed, and as for Waraji, after a moment of thought, he nodded.

Thus, they proceeded along down the Heavenspan River as they headed through the Lower Reaches.

A month passed.

This was the farthest Naruto had ever traveled in his entire life. He saw numerous mountains and jungles, places where there was no sign of human habitation at all, and everything was like a huge wilderness.

At one point in their travels, the ground began to quake, and Naruto looked off into the distant mountains to see something completely astonishing. It was an enormous giant covered in thick fur, which caused the ground to shudder with each step it took.

The sight of the giant caused Naruto to gasp.

One night when they were flying along, lightning crashed off in the distance, and Naruto saw... an enormous bird that was just as large as Fragrant Cloud Peak. As it whistled along through the air, countless bolts of lightning danced across its body. The mere sight of such a creature flying along in the middle of the night was completely astonishing.

The most memorable thing Naruto saw was during the daytime when he caught sight of a beast on the south bank of the river. It had four stumpy legs, and a head as huge as a mountain. Suddenly, a huge 30,000-meter golden crocodile burst out from within the Heavenspan River and gobbled up the first creature. As the crocodile sank back down into the water, it cast a cold glance at Naruto and the others.

That single glance caused their minds to reel, and blood to ooze out of the corners of their mouths. Splitting pain tore at their eyes, and it took a long moment for them to recover.

Naruto shivered and then muttered, "Terrifying. The outside is so terrifying!"

Although Waraji had been on many missions outside the sect, this was his first time traveling so far away. Even his scalp numbed after what had just happened, let alone Ryuzetsu, who was petrified.

Thankfully, none of the incredibly powerful creatures they encountered showed any interest in attacking them. At the most, they would look over curiously. Apparently, the auras cast off by the group of three caused such creatures steer clear of them.

Naruto got the feeling that it was because they were disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect. Although this area was far away from the sect, it was still within their sphere of influence.

Despite the fear the group felt, they continued onward. After the first month of travel, they made contact with the sect on a pre-appointed day, informing them of their current location. The same thing happened after the second month. It was around that time that they reached the area in the Fallenstar Mountains which was the border of the Spirit Stream Sect's territory.

Along the way, Waraji had considered making a secret strike against Naruto, but the things he was seeing along the journey left him unnerved. He was in no mood for fighting, and when you coupled that with how cautious Naruto was being, and how close he stuck to Ryuzetsu, Waraji was simply too apprehensive, and couldn't find a chance to make his move. In the end, he was forced to simply bide his time.

When Waraji looked at Naruto, an imperceptibly sinister flicker could be seen in his eyes.

"So, he's really determined to kill me, huh..." Naruto thought, eyes narrowing. "Hates me that much..." Naruto was getting worried. He was a perceptive person, and was now very sure of what was going on in Waraji's head.

The Fallenstar Mountains formed a mountain range that swept from north to south. They looked endless, like an enormous sleeping dragon that split apart the lands.

In fact, even the sky looked different above the mountains, almost as if it were tinged with blood.

According to the legends, many years ago, a star had fallen from the skies and slammed into the earth, causing some of the lands to collapse, and other parts to rise up into the form of this mountain range.

The mountains were covered with dense jungle and filled with wild beasts. However, numerous rare types of plants and vegetation could be found there. Because of that, there were always cultivators willing to go in and brave the danger, however terrifying it might seem.

"These are the Fallenstar Mountains," Ryuzetsu said. The long journey had left her exhausted, so to catch sight of their final destination after all this time caused her to sigh with relief.

"The last messages sent to the sect by Junior Brother Amano came from this area," Waraji said, producing a magical device from his bag of holding: a Divination Compass.

The Divination Compass had a silver needle on it, which was currently spinning around in circles.

"According to sect rules, disciples on outside missions are supposed to notify the sect of their location every month. This Spirit Stream Compass should help us locate Junior Brother Amano's last known position." Even as he spoke, the silver needle on the Divination Compass suddenly pointed off in one particular direction.

"Got it!" Waraji said, flashing into motion. Ryuzetsu's expression flickered as she followed along behind him.

Naruto looked out over the Fallenstar Mountains, and the thick vegetation which covered them. It was like a sea of plants, within which could be heard the cries of various beasts. Even the occasional roar echoed out.

Naruto had a very serious expression on his face as he activated the shield from his jade pendant. With that in place, not even the slightest breeze would get past him unnoticed. Only then did he cautiously follow after Waraji.

Waraji and Ryuzetsu proceeded along without pausing for a moment, speeding along through the Fallenstar Mountains until they found themselves deep in a valley. The valley was filled with trees that had been growing together for so many years that their branches were all interlocked. The knotted and gnarled bark added to the effect; if it were nighttime, the entire scene would be extremely terrifying.

After proceeding along through the valley for two hours, they suddenly came to a stop. Waraji looked down at the Divination Compass, the needle of which was pointing toward a tree with a trunk so wide that ten people could circle around it with arms extended.

Waraji looked at Naruto and then pointed toward the huge tree. "Junior Brother Naruto, please go investigate."

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then looked the tree over. Seeing nothing initially suspicious, he tapped the jade pendant hanging at his waist, causing the green shield to grow a bit stronger. He also placed some paper talismans onto his body before finally edging closer.

"So afraid of dying, and yet you still want to practice cultivation?!" Ryuzetsu gave a cold harrumph. She have never liked Naruto, so even though she herself was afraid of the dangers they had witnessed, to see him so incredibly terrified of dying made her look down on him even more.

Naruto didn't have the time to worry about Ryuzetsu. Cautiously approaching the tree, he noticed a portion of bark that seemed to have grown recently. Taking out a flying sword, he cut away that portion of the tree and found that a jade slip was hidden inside.

After removing the jade slip from the tree, Naruto scanned it with divine sense, whereupon his expression flickered, and he tossed the slip over to Waraji.

Within that jade slip was a single fragment of information.

I found some other clues, and I'm going to the Uchiha Clan to get proof...

After looking at it for a moment, Waraji frowned, and then handed the jade slip to Ryuzetsu. Ryuzetsu looked at it, whereupon her expression turned grim.

"The Uchiha Clan..." she murmured after a long moment. Then she turned to stare deeper into the Fallenstar Mountains.

These mountains were very large, and filled with numerous natural resources. Considering that this place was on the very edge of Spirit Stream Sect territory, where it bordered with the territory of the Blood Stream Sect, it was only natural that the Spirit Stream Sect would have the area guarded. Those guards were none other than... the Uchiha Clan.

The Uchiha Clan was a relatively large clan, which had stood guard in the Fallenstar Mountains for a thousand years. Every generation of the clan had Foundation Establishment patriarchs. Generally speaking, the mere threat posed by such people was more than enough to help them in their duties of guardianship.

In fact, the mission instructions even said to make contact with the Uchiha Clan if they ran into any danger.

However, Amano's jade slip seemed to indicate that the Uchiha Clan... was where he had been heading to find some sort of evidence. After that was when he lost contact.

"What do you guys think?" Waraji asked. "Should we go check out the Uchiha Clan?" Waraji glanced over casually at Naruto and Ryuzetsu.

Naruto immediately said, "Elder Brother Waraji, Elder Sister Ryuzetsu, having found this jade slip, our mission is complete... We should put safety first. What's the point in going on?" This entire place made Naruto feel as if an invisible pressure was weighing down on him.

Ryuzetsu hesitated for a moment. If they went back now, they would only be able to acquire the minimum amount of merit points. However, if they investigated further, they might be able to get more.

Waraji could see that Ryuzetsu was hesitating, and he frowned, thinking about how going back now might reduce the chances he had to kill Naruto.

After a moment, he said, "I think we should go to the Uchiha Clan and look around. We've come all the way here, how could we simply go back now? After we find out exactly what befell Junior Brother Amano, we might even be able to get help from the Uchiha Clan in finding him. If we do, we'll be rewarded with many more merit points.

"Furthermore... as long as we don't go into the depths of the Fallenstar Mountains, we should be relatively safe. Besides, if you're worried about the Uchiha Clan, don't forget that all of the cultivator clans in Spirit Stream Sect territory have special seals placed into their blood, making it impossible for them to turn traitor. How could they possibly treat us with any disrespect?" After he finished speaking, Waraji looked over slowly at Ryuzetsu.

She nodded. After all, what he said made sense. "Very well. We'll go to the Uchiha Clan to look around. Who knows, maybe Junior Brother Amano left the Uchiha Clan, and then went missing."

Seeing that she had agreed, Waraji smiled. Then he turned to look at Naruto, and his gaze grew a bit colder.

Frowning, Naruto asked: "We accomplished the mission, why let ourselves get dragged into side issues?"

"If you're so scared, then just don't come with us," Ryuzetsu said, turning a cold shoulder to Naruto as she headed off.

"Junior Brother Naruto," Waraji said, "I'm responsible for evaluating our performance on this task. We're supposed to make our decisions unanimously. If you don't come with us, it will make it hard to make my evaluation." With an enigmatic smile, he began to follow Ryuzetsu. In his opinion, Naruto was sure to come along. If he didn't, Ryuzetsu would be able to corroborate the fact that the had committed dereliction of duty. When that happened, the Hall of Justice surely wouldn't let things slide.

Naruto's face darkened, and his blood began to surge through his veins as he stared with bloodshot eyes at Waraji walking away. He might be afraid of death, but as of this point, he was coming to the conclusion that he needed to take control of the situation. Only by settling things with Waraji could he ensure that his own position was stable.

"Waraji, you're forcing my hand!" he thought. After standing there reticently for a few breaths of time, he bowed his head for a moment, then strode forward to follow Ryuzetsu and Waraji. Soon, they disappeared into the jungle.

Four hours later, they were still hurrying along. Evening was falling, and the sun was setting, ensuring that the jungle was slowly getting darker and darker.

"We're here!" Waraji suddenly said. The three of them stopped walking and looked off into the jungle. Up ahead, the trees thinned out, and numerous limestone boulders could be seen protruding out of the ground.

A large number of courtyard houses were visible, which were organized into the larger form of a mansion that could apparently house hundreds of people. At this time of evening, a clan would normally be at its most active, but unexpectedly, the mansion was completely dark and quiet. Considering the darkness of the sky, the entire place seemed almost abandoned.

The only light provided was by two lanterns which hung at the main gate. Even though there was no wind, the two lanterns swayed back and forth, casting flickering shadows onto the guardian stone lions beneath them.

The scene caused Waraji and Ryuzetsu's faces to flicker.

As for Naruto, as soon as he laid eyes on the mansion, a feeling of impending danger rose up in his heart. It felt like every inch of flesh on his body wanted to scream.

"Something's off about-" Waraji said, his heart thumping. However, before he could even finish speaking, the main gate slammed open, and a vile wind blew out. At the same time, a figure emerged noiselessly through the gate.


	13. Chapter 13

The courtyard gate opened, and Ryuzetsu, Waraji and Naruto were completely on guard as they peered inside. Naruto was so nervous that he started slapping paper talismans all over himself.

The figure which had just appeared held a lantern in its hand, and stood in the opened gate, wreathed in shadows as it gazed at the three of them.

"Why, might I ask, have the three of you come to the Uchiha Clan on this dark evening?"

The flickering light of the lantern just barely revealed a young man, standing there looking at them calmly. He wore a long, green robe, and his face was pale and devoid of any color of blood.

After seeing that it was a person who had appeared, Waraji and Ryuzetsu breathed sighs of relief. Somehow, the creepy feeling they had experienced moments ago had subsided a bit.

Waraji clasped hands and said, "Hello, Fellow Daoist. We are disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect, paying a visit to ask a few questions."

By this point, Ryuzetsu had noticed the numerous shields which were flickering around Naruto, and her brow furrowed in response.

Naruto didn't notice Ryuzetsu's look. For some reason, the fact that a young man had appeared hadn't caused his sensation of intense danger to lessen at all.

"Ah, Fellow Daoists from the Spirit Stream Sect," the young man said. "Please, come in, and we can discuss matters..." The flickering of the lantern cast shadows on the young man's face, making it difficult to see him clearly as he turned and walked off.

The courtyard gate then opened wide to allow the three disciples to enter.

Waraji hesitated for a moment, then walked through the gate. Ryuzetsu followed along behind him. As for Naruto, he looked around for a moment before gritting his teeth and cautiously entering the courtyard.

Even as the large gate closed behind them, the two stone lions beneath the lanterns outside suddenly turned to look in the direction of the gate, their eyes flickering with a blood-colored light.

Inside the courtyard was a green limestone path that wound through various plants and decorative rocks. Faint moonlight shone down, casting everything into partial shadow. The only light came from the lantern, which swayed back and forth in the young man's hand.

The four of them walked along the path, surrounded by gloomy silence. This place almost seemed like a different world than the one beyond the gate.

On the right-hand side of the path were several fruit trees, laden with red fruit. Strangely, despite a lack of any breeze within the courtyard, the leaves on those trees suddenly rustled.

Ryuzetsu and Waraji seemed more on guard than ever, and Naruto, who was last in line, looked around cautiously in all directions. For some reason, those rustling fruit trees seemed very bizarre.

Gradually, a smell like that of fresh blood rose up, faint, but simultaneously distinct.

Naruto's heart began to thump, and he was just about to say something when, all of a sudden, fruit began to fall off of the fruit trees, landing on the ground and rolling toward Naruto and the others. Strangely, faces could be seen on the fruit, child-like faces with broad smiles that almost seemed to have been painted on.

"La la la! Hello!"

Arms and legs sprouted out of the fruit, and as they ran toward Naruto and the others, they clasped hands and then began to skip in circles around the shocked group of three.

At the same time, the fruits began to cry out in excited voices: "Auntie said to be good and not cry! We can only laugh! Ripe fruit is the best fruit!"

Their voices were very charming and sweet as they danced around and began to sing children's lullabies. Now that they were so close, it was possible to smell a sweet fragrance wafting about. It was so sickly sweet, in fact, that upon inhaling it, Naruto and the others felt as if they were about to puke their guts out.

When the fruit got too close to the young man with the lantern, he completely ignored them, and even stepped on some of them, crushing them. However, the crushed fruits simply crawled back to their feet, smiling as they continued to dance and sing.

"What the hell are these things?!" Waraji exclaimed, eyes flickering. He waved his sleeve, causing a gust of wind to kick up and send some of the fruits flying away. After splatting onto the ground, they lurched back to their feet and re-joined the circle, laughing just as loudly as before.

Naruto felt goosebumps rising up all over him, and by this point he was fully surrounded by flickering shields.

Ryuzetsu looked at the fruits all holding hands and singing, and her facial expression flickered with fear. Pushing down the disgust in her heart, she gritted her teeth, and her phoenix-like eyes flashed with anger. She was just about to perform an incantation gesture when suddenly, the fruits' faces fell in terror.

"Auntie's coming!" they cried, running pell-mell back to the tree and leaping up into their original positions. Soon, their laughter and singing had faded away, and they looked like nothing more than ordinary fruit.

The young man from the Uchiha Clan didn't look back at them, but they could hear his voice as he said, "Those are some spirit fruits the patriarch brought back from the depths of the Fallenstar Mountains. What do you think of their singing, Fellow Daoists? They love to sing."

Unsightly expressions appeared on the faces of Waraji and Ryuzetsu as they followed along.

Naruto was still in the very back. Suddenly, the cold feeling of fear rose up inside of him as he realized that... another set of footsteps could be heard!

Step, step, step...

It was impossible to determine when exactly this development had occurred, but as of this moment... there were clearly five people walking along the path!

Perhaps those footsteps had been mingled in with theirs from the moment they had entered the courtyard, and they hadn't noticed because of the strange fruits. But now, in the silence that followed the fruits' outburst, the sound of the additional footsteps was extremely conspicuous.

The echoing footfalls caused Naruto to shiver. What was most frightening was that the footsteps were coming from right behind him. Suddenly, an icy breeze seemed to run down his back, as if someone were behind him, breathing on him.

"Hey guys…" he said, "did any of you realize... there's another set of footsteps!?" As the hairs on the back of Naruto's neck rose up, Waraji's face flickered as he also detected the footsteps.

Ryuzetsu's pupils constricted, and she began to pant.

The three of them suddenly stopped walking, and as they did, the sound of the other footsteps vanished.

Naruto's heart was pounding. Gritting his teeth, he slowly turned his head to find himself staring into the eyes of a young woman wearing a red robe!

Her robes swayed gently, and her face was as ashen, as if she were dead. She smiled oddly at Naruto for a moment before her lips twitched, and she said, "This fire won't do, help me."

The suddenness of what had just occurred caused Naruto to leap into the air and scream. The red-robed young woman suddenly transformed into a streak of light that vanished in the blink of an eye.

Naruto's face was pale white as he looked around, but nothing was there... except for the echoing sound of his own scream.

Ryuzetsu and Waraji looked around in fright. Although they didn't see any unusual figure like Naruto did, their hearts were still pounding.

Then, a woman's voice suddenly rang out, singing a song. The lyrics drifted throughout the courtyard, strange and mysterious, almost like a lullaby being sung to soothe a baby. The mere sound of it caused the darkness to seem even more spine-tingling than before.

"Good little baby, it's time to sleep; the wind is blowing and the flames do leap; don't you weep and don't make a peep..."

"Enough with the parlor tricks!" Waraji blurted, clearly nervous. He instantly performed an incantation gesture, summoning a flying sword, which began to swirl around him.

Simultaneously, the young man with the lantern turned around to look at them. The flickering light from the lantern made him appear stranger than ever.

"What are you standing there for? Come on, let's keep going." He smiled, a smile that was somehow very abnormal.

Waraji took a deep breath, and then his eyes glinted with a fierce light as he said, "No, we're not going anywhere. Look, we're here to investigate the disappearance of one of our fellow disciples. Fellow Daoist, do you happen to remember anyone like us coming around here about five months ago?"

Ryuzetsu had already pulled out a magical device, and her eyes were shining in concentration.

"No, I don't think so," replied the young man. His softly spoken words floated out into the air and seemed to harmonize with the woman's singing voice.

"Fellow Daoist," Ryuzetsu suddenly said, "how come none of your fellow clan members are around?"

The young man's smile widened to the point of looking unnatural. "Oh they're out on business. Are you done with your questions?"

"Yes, we're done here," said Waraji. "We'll take our leave now." With that, he turned to walk the other way back down the path. Ryuzetsu followed suit, and as for Naruto, he had long since taken to flight, and was further on ahead of them.

The young man's smile was now so wide that the sides of his mouth began to rip open, almost as if his head were about to be torn in half! "If you don't want to go any further, the least you could do is stay behind... stay behind to keep us company..."

The lantern suddenly turned a greenish color, making the entire courtyard even darker than before. Even as the words left the young man's mouth, he began to float through the air toward Waraji.

Waraji's face fell, and he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, sending his flying sword speeding toward the young man. A boom rang out as the young man let the sword stab through him. Then, his smile widened even further as he shot toward Waraji.

Panting, Waraji fell back, simultaneously pulling out a black medicinal pill, which he threw down onto the ground. A rattling boom echoed out as the pill then exploded.

The charging young man was hit by the blast and sent tumbling backward, his body riddled with wounds. However, he apparently didn't feel any pain whatsoever. Smiling the same as ever, he arced through the air as fast as a kite on a windy day, to once again charge toward Waraji.

In the spot where the medicinal pill had exploded, numerous glowing lines were now visible, all of which emanated a strong aura of death as they began to form together, as if they were repairing themselves.

As soon as he saw the designs on the ground, Waraji cried out in alarm, "There's a spell formation here! It's a Shadowhell Formation!"

At the same time, the green limestone beneath Ryuzetsu's feet began to vibrate, and then eyes popped open upon them. Emaciated, corpse-like arms as skinny as twigs stretched out. Just beneath the surface of the skin of those arms were countless, worm-like creatures, wriggling and writhing. Those arms… grabbed Ryuzetsu's right leg.

Voices rose up from the green limestone, sinister, fear-inspiring voices.

"It hurts when you step on us..."

"Come. Come be with us..."

Ryuzetsu's face was ashen. She quickly performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing a flag to fly out from her bag of holding. It instantly transformed into two mist beasts, which swirled around her defensively. Simultaneously, a flying sword appeared, and the sword light that shimmered out severed the hands which had grabbed onto her leg, allowing her to fall back.

As for Naruto, the woman's singing suddenly grew louder in his ears.

"Don't you weep and don't make a peep..."

Naruto's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it would explode. Eyes crimson, he let out a powerful shout as he slapped more and more paper talismans down onto his body, causing more and more shields to spring up. Soon, he was surrounded by a barrier almost two meters thick.

Almost in the same moment that all the shields sprang up, the red-robed woman suddenly lunged out of the darkness toward Naruto.

A bang could be heard as she pierced roughly thirty percent into the shield barrier before being stopped in place. Then she screamed, a scream that was apparently capable of piercing through the shields. When the ear-splitting sound stabbed into Naruto's ears, he began to lose consciousness.

Shocked, he bit his tongue hard, which made things clear just in time to see the woman transforming into a swarm of countless red beetles, which then began to batter against his shield.

However, the shield was too thick, and the red beetles were incapable of piercing through the seventy percent that remained. After bouncing back, they flew back and re-formed into the shape of the red-robed woman.

She stared at Naruto for a moment, then began to laugh as she charged toward him once again.

Simultaneously, popping sounds could be heard as the ornamental rocks began to ripple and rise up, transforming into stone golems. The fruit trees also sprouted arms and legs, wrenched themselves out from the ground and began to walk forward toward Naruto and the others. Especially bizarre was the fact that the fruit on the trees began to laugh and sing nursery rhymes again.

One of the trees joined the red-robed woman to specifically target Naruto.

"Puppets!" Ryuzetsu gasped.

Naruto was trembling violently. In all the years in which he had lived, he had never experienced such a sensation of imminent danger. As the woman closed in on him, he quickly performed an incantation gesture, drawing upon all his spiritual energy as he waved his finger at her.

Instantly, his wooden sword flew out at top speed, a black streak that kicked up a huge blast of wind. Then, a boom echoed out as the sword stabbed into the woman's head.

The woman let out a shrill scream, and her body suddenly dissolved into a mass of red beetles, which twitched and spasmed as they fell down onto the ground and then shattered into pieces.

The wooden sword didn't vanish; after stabbing through the woman's head, it continued to speed onward toward the fruit tree behind her.

It stabbed through the tree, which lurched to a stop and then suddenly exploded. Instantly, the fruit on the tree shriveled up, and yet continued to sing happily even as they died.

Everything that was happening caused the hair on Naruto's body to stand on end. Thankfully, his wooden sword was extremely powerful, and after stabbing through the tree, it continued to sail through the air and then blasted a hole into the nearby wall. As soon as the hole appeared, though, tentacle-like tendrils began to swirl out from the broken sides, as if the wall were preparing to re-form itself.

"Get out through that hole!" Ryuzetsu cried, instantly flickering into motion. However, Waraji was the closest of all of them to the hole in the wall. Wincing at the pain of wasting such a valuable item, he produced another of the black medicinal pills and then threw it down in front of the young man with the lantern. A huge boom echoed out. Waraji then borrowed the force of the resulting explosion to fly toward the hole.

Just when he was on the verge of shooting out through the hole, though, his face fell, as two huge stone lions leapt in from outside. Roaring, they charged, one of them toward Waraji, the other toward Naruto.

Astonishingly, these were the same two stone lions which had been standing guard outside the main gate!

"You can't escape," said the young man with the lantern. "Everyone from the Spirit Stream Sect... shall die!" He began to laugh as he once again began to fight with Waraji.

When Waraji saw that the hole in the wall was already beginning to mend itself, he roared, hands flashing in a double-handed incantation gesture as he summoned a head-sized fireball. That fireball emanated blistering heat as it expanded, sending a wave of flames out in all directions.

The stone lions were shoved back, and the young Uchiha Clan cultivator's face flickered. There were also two treants who were caught up in the flames, one of which exploded.

The other treant tried to fall back, but was then directly hit by Ryuzetsu's deadly flying sword.

Rumbling booms echoed out as green sap exploded out from the destroyed treants. At the same time, it was revealed that inside of the two treants were emaciated, gasping figures, whose life force seemed to have been almost completely absorbed.

One of those figures collapsed, unconscious, whereas the other struggled to open his eyes, and then looked excitedly at Ryuzetsu.

"Elder Brother Amano!" she cried, having instantly recognized Amano. She immediately scooped him up into her arms.

At the same time, the weakened Amano grabbed Ryuzetsu's arm and poured his last remaining bit of spiritual power into her. "The Uchiha Clan has turned traitor. We have to get out of here and warn the sect!"

Ryuzetsu's spiritual energy instantly swelled. Gritting her teeth, she held Amano in her arms as she shot toward the hole in the wall with even greater speed.

When Naruto looked over, he instantly recognized Amano. Then, he flickered into motion as he dodged the stone lion and sped toward the hole in the wall.

As of this point, Ryuzetsu was now closest to the breach in the wall, with Waraji and Naruto close on her heels. The fastest of them all was Naruto, who was quickly closing the distance between himself and Ryuzetsu.

Waraji's face was pale white. The fireball he had just unleashed had taken quite a toll on him. However, after noticing the speed with which Naruto was moving, his eyes suddenly flickered with a cold glow, and he held up his hand, within which could be seen a black medicinal pill.

"Junior Sister Ryuzetsu, you have to get word back to the sect! I'll give you a bit of extra power!" With that, he flung the black medicinal pill down into the space between Ryuzetsu and Naruto.

As the medicinal pill exploded, a powerful force blasted out, pushing Ryuzetsu toward the hole even faster than before. Then, a plopping sound like splashing water could be heard as she burst out.

In contrast, Naruto was blocked by the explosion, and was suddenly set upon by the stone lion. Instantly, his eyes turned bright red.

"Waraji!" he bellowed. A wind blasted out as the stone lion pounced. Just as Naruto was about to dodge, three treants closed in. There were now four puppets all attacking him simultaneously, making it impossible to evade.

A popping sound could be heard as his shields glittered brightly and then began to shatter. Even the green shield from the jade pendant faded and shattered. Although the majority of the force of the blow was dissipated, the stone lion was extraordinary, and its attack landed fully on Naruto's chest.

The massive force sent Naruto flying, his entire body shaking.

"Junior Brother Naruto!" Waraji cried said. Although a cold smile twisted his lips, his words sounded bitter and lamenting. And yet, he didn't slow down at all; in the blink of an eye, he passed into the rippling hole in the wall. Just when he was about to burst through to the other side, the young Uchiha Clan cultivator let out a piercing shriek, then suddenly exploded into a mass of countless chunks of flesh, all devoid of blood, which then shot toward Waraji.

Before Waraji could pass through the gap in the wall, the chunks of flesh wrapped around him and began to drag him backward.

Waraji let out a roar of rage as he was pulled out. By this point, the hole in the wall was on the verge of closing up completely.

After gritting his teeth for a moment, he then bit down on his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood, which landed onto his flying sword. The flying sword instantly turned crimson. Instead of shooting out in attack, it then exploded, transforming into a cloud of shrapnel that shot back toward him.

Although it was injurious to himself, the hail of shrapnel also managed to slash away the chunks of flesh which had grabbed ahold of him!

He was now freed, but was also covered in a mass of cuts and wounds. The pain from his mangled flesh threatened to render him unconscious, but he was still able to clench his jaw and shoot back toward the hole in the wall.

Meanwhile, Naruto had been slammed by the lion's paw, sending him tumbling backward, screaming. And yet, even as his scream was still echoing out into the air, Naruto looked down in surprise at his chest to discover that, although his clothing was shredded, his skin hadn't been harmed at all. In fact... he didn't even feel any pain.

After performing a quick inspection, he confirmed that... although the situation had seemed extremely dangerous... he hadn't been hurt in the least.

The stone lion's blow had sent him flying, but other than that, it had done virtually nothing.

Even as his elation grew, the treants closed in, and one of them punched him in the back. Although he was thrown forward, he felt no pain at all, whereupon he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"I can't believe I'm actually so strong! Fudge! What do I have to be afraid of?!" Enlivened, and now fully confident, he shot into the air toward the gap in the wall, moving with even greater speed than before. In the blink of an eye, he was at the gap.

Waraji was now about halfway through the gap, and didn't even notice Naruto and his sudden burst of speed. In his mind, Naruto had probably already been killed by the numerous puppets.

Just as Waraji was about to free himself, a furious gleam appeared in Naruto eyes, and he reached out toward Waraji's shoulder, which was already outside of the hole.

"Free at last!" Waraji laughed. But then, he suddenly felt a huge force dragging him back through the hole.

"No!" he howled. Before he could even see what was dragging him, he felt his bag of holding slip away, and then he was flung deep into the courtyard, away from the gap.

It was only at this point that he saw Naruto.

"Naruto!" he howled, eyes bloodshot. However, he was now cut off by the two stone lions. Booms rang out, followed by a miserable scream.

"Elder Brother Waraji!" Naruto screamed, simultaneously leaping through the hole in the wall.

Just as he emerged on the other side, the hole finished closing up.

He was now outside, no longer in the courtyard of the Uchiha Clan. As for Ryuzetsu, she had continued to run as soon as she had emerged, and was now waiting some distance off at the edge of the forest. When she saw Naruto appear, she was just about to call out to him when he suddenly began to wail miserably.

"Elder Brother Waraji! Not only did you give me your bag of holding to help me escape, you also held off the puppets. Oh, Elder Brother Waraji!"

After hearing Naruto's words, Ryuzetsu felt horrible. However, the gap was closed, and Naruto was just standing there in grief and indignation, so she quickly said, "Naruto, come on, let's go!"

Not needing any further coercion, Naruto began to run, tears streaming down his face. Helping Ryuzetsu support Amano, they vanished into the forest.

Looking over his shoulder, Naruto frowned sadly and said, "Elder Brother Waraji, such a good guy..."


	14. Chapter 14

Ryuzetsu was very upset. She had never imagined that the mission would be this dangerous. Then she remembered Naruto's suggestion to not come to the Uchiha Clan, and realized that if they had listened to him, Waraji might not have died.

And when she saw that Naruto was in so much grief that he was on the verge of beating his own chest, she felt even worse. Finally, she sighed.

"Junior Brother Naruto," she said, looking at him bitterly, "let's hurry up. If the Uchiha Clan has turned traitor, they won't want the sect getting wind of it. I just tried to send word back, but there's interference in the area... Transmission jade slips won't work."

Naruto shivered, feeling more in danger than ever before.

Meanwhile, beneath the Uchiha Clan mansion was a sprawling, underground necropolis. In one part of the necropolis was a lake of simmering blood, filled with countless floating skeletons.

The glitter of a spell formation could be seen surrounding the entire thing, and countless members of the Uchiha Clan were prostrating themselves around the lake. There were men and women, youngsters and old-timers, all of whom knelt at key nexuses within the spell formation.

It was with utter solemnity that one by one, they would slice open their right hands and squeeze blood down onto the nexuses, which carried the blood into the central lake.

In the very middle of that lake of blood, an old man sat cross-legged. His hair was long and white, and he seemed threatening without being angry. With every breath he took, the lake of blood bubbled.

Suddenly, the man's eyes opened, and they gleamed with a blood-colored glow.

"What's going on!?" he demanded, his cold voice echoing throughout the necropolis.

One of the clan members closest to him was a young man, who looked exactly like the young man from up in the courtyard who had tried to kill Naruto and the others. He leaned over and whispered, "Patriarch, three disciples from the Spirit Stream Sect showed up. It happened so quickly that I was caught unprepared. I was worried that it would influence the larger task at hand, so my puppet body on the outside, along with the spell formation and the other puppets, tried to kill them. Unfortunately... I'm so useless, Senior. I only managed to kill one. The other two escaped, and... they took the other disciple we caught last time with them."

The young man was feeling quite discouraged. Normally speaking, if a disciple of the Spirit Stream Sect went missing, it would take at least half a year before the sect officially declared them as missing. Only then would other disciples be sent to investigate. Considering that, by the time such disciples arrived in the Fallenstar Mountains, at least nine months should have passed.

However, only four months had gone by, and yet disciples from the Spirit Stream Sect had already arrived. It wasn't just this young man who was taken aback. No one in the entire Uchiha Clan could have guessed that the disappearance of a mere Outer Sect disciple was anything to worry about. Logically speaking, no one should have been sent to investigate so quickly.

Furthermore, if Amano hadn't managed to uncover the secrets of the Uchiha Clan, they would never have taken him captive. According to their original plan, they needed half a year to be completely prepared, then rise up and free themselves from the control of the Spirit Stream Sect!

However, that meant they still need a month of time...

"Two Outer Sect disciples…? Hmph! The defensive spell formation has already been activated. Seal the area and send people to track them down and kill them. We only need one more month... and then nothing will be able to stop us!" The old man didn't seem to be worried at all about what had happened, and closed his eyes to continue meditating.

The young man sighed, bowing his head in compliance.

It didn't take long before seven figures emerged from within the Uchiha Clan. The one in the lead position was the same young man, whose cultivation base was in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation.

Of the other six, the weakest were in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation, with two being in the seventh.

"They won't be able to get far. Let's go!" The seven cultivators shot into the jungle, eyes shining with killing intent.

Out in the jungle, Naruto and Ryuzetsu were moving along as fast as possible while simultaneously propping up Amano. They tried to use their windskiff, but apparently the same interference from the spell formation that made transmission jade slips inoperable had the same effect on the ship.

The expressions on the faces of Naruto and Ryuzetsu grew even darker.

Naruto's face was pale, and the sensation of imminent crisis within him couldn't be greater. Every inch of flesh and blood within him was screaming out at him to flee as fast as he could!

If he went any slower, he would surely die!

The sensation of danger was far greater than what he had felt from Waraji. After all, even though Waraji had tried to kill him, he had been nervous about it and tried to do it secretly.

Naruto had known all along that as long as he was careful, he would most likely be able to avoid whatever move Waraji made against him, and could probably even strike back at him.

But now... the instant he thought about the information in their possession, he trembled, and sweat began to pour down his face. Considering that they knew about the Uchiha Clan's betrayal, it was obvious that they wouldn't hesitate to kill all of them.

They would no doubt go to any and all lengths to ensure their silence.

Furthermore, they wouldn't strike out in secret, they would attack like a lightning bolt!

Nor would they allow much time for them to get very far away. In fact, there were almost certainly members of the Uchiha Clan chasing after them already.

"Damn you, Hall of Justice. This mission... is not the type that Outer Sect disciples can handle!" Then Naruto remembered that the Uchiha Clan had a Foundation Establishment patriarch, and he began to shake even harder.

"Foundation Establishment... The difference between Chakra Condensation and Foundation Establishment is like the difference between being mortal and being in Chakra Condensation..." Naruto was so nervous that his eyes were bloodshot.

"I practice cultivation... to live forever..." Naruto wanted to cry, but no tears would come. He looked over at Amano, and knew that he would never be able to abandon him just to gain some speed. That was something he could never bring himself to do.

Ryuzetsu's face was pale; her cultivation base was the weakest of them all, and her internal spiritual energy was recovering very slowly. The more time passed, the worse she felt about the situation.

She knew that they were facing almost certain death. Perhaps someone in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation might be able to fight back against a Foundation Establishment Patriarch. But now, Waraji was dead, and she was only in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation, with no hope of being able to break through to the next level any time soon. As for Naruto... considering how scared he was of dying, Ryuzetsu would never place any hope in him.

"I never imagined I would die on my first mission outside of the sect," she thought, laughing bitterly. However, things weren't over yet, and it wasn't the time to give up, so she gritted her teeth and produced a medicinal pill from within her bag of holding and popped it into her mouth. Then she looked over at Naruto, who was pale-faced and shivering, and she sighed. At the moment, she no longer felt any scorn for him. Producing a medicinal pill bottle, she tossed it over to him.

"Junior Brother Naruto, make sure to keep your internal spiritual energy up."

Naruto stared in shock at the medicinal pill bottle, then opened it and consumed one of the pills. It was at this point that he suddenly remembered something, and produced two medicinal pill bottles from Waraji's bag of holding.

"Elder Brother Waraji had some medicinal pills," he said, handing one of the bottles to Ryuzetsu.

She accepted it silently, and the two of them proceeded along as fast as possible. Before long, they were back in the location where they had discovered Amano's jade slip. When Ryuzetsu saw that tree, she sighed inwardly.

By now, it was useless to have regrets, so without another word, they continued to speed along. Gradually, Ryuzetsu began to slow down, which made Naruto even more nervous. Finally, he then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along, carrying Amano at the same time.

Ryuzetsu had long since noticed that Naruto was much faster than her. When he grabbed her arm, she almost pulled away, but when she saw the look of terror on his face, she sighed and allowed him to pull her along.

It was at this point that Amano shivered, and his eyes slowly opened. He looked exhausted.

After assessing his current position, he laughed bitterly and said, "Junior Brother Naruto, I never thought that, after all these years, we would meet again like this."

Seeing that Amano was awake, Ryuzetsu quickly offered him a medicinal pill.

Naruto looked at Amano and sighed. "Elder Brother Amano..."

"There's still hope for us," Amano said. "For their own personal benefit, the Uchiha Clan slaughtered people from the mortal world, extracting their blood and bones for use in a spell formation. Their Foundation Establishment patriarch is currently presiding over an Inverse Blood Grand Magic, so he can't personally come after us. Furthermore, the entire Uchiha Clan is maintaining the spell formation. Therefore... they won't be able to send very many people after us!"

Amano smiled, took the medicinal pill from Ryuzetsu, and swallowed it. Then, his eyes began to shine as he said, "Although we can't get a message to the sect from this location, if we get far enough away, we'll definitely be able to!

"Something big like this, an entire cultivator clan rebelling, will definitely provoke a huge reaction from the sect!"

Thanks to the medicinal pill, he no longer needed help from Naruto, and began to speed along on his own power.

Because of that, they managed to pick up speed. Soon, the borders of the Fallenstar Mountains became visible, and eventually, they shot out into the open, whereupon Ryuzetsu pulled out a jade slip and tried to make contact with the sect. Moments later, her face drained of blood, and she shook her head.

"Still not working…?" muttered Naruto, his heart pounding. Amano merely stood there silently.

None of them spoke any further as they continued on dejectedly. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, a whistling sound could be heard from behind them. Their faces fell as seven figures burst out of the trees not too far away.

In the lead was the young man in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, who looked at Naruto and the others, eyes flickering with killing intent.

"Like I said, you... can't get away! Never forget that the person who killed you is named Sasuke! Kill them!"

The Uchiha Clan members immediately pulled out magical devices, and cold light appeared in their eyes as they closed in.

The faces of Naruto, Ryuzetsu, and Amano flickered, and they gritted their teeth as they tried to pick up speed.

Sasuke was laughing coldly as he flicked his sleeve, causing a violet skull to appear. As it sped through the air, it cackled madly, and within the blink of an eye, it was almost directly upon Naruto and the others. At that point, Sasuke waved his finger, and the skull exploded.

The resulting shockwave sent the three Spirit Stream Sect disciples spinning apart. Ryuzetsu and Amano suddenly lost their momentum, and were almost instantly surrounded by the Uchiha Clan members.

Naruto, however, kept speeding along. Before, he had been somewhat held back by the other two, but now that he was on his own, he burst out with incredible speed, breaking free of the Uchiha Clan members. It only took a moment for him to put dozens of meters between them, and from the look of it, he was only starting to pick up speed.

Even Sasuke, the only member of the Uchiha Clan present who was in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, could do nothing but stare in shock.

"He's fast," Sasuke said coolly. "First kill these two, then we'll go after him!" Waving his sleeve, he turned to Ryuzetsu and Amano, killing intent boiling.

Ryuzetsu coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her body was already spattered in blood; she was surrounded and certain that she was going to die. As she looked at Naruto fleeing off into the distance, she began to laugh bitterly.

She was well aware that Naruto feared death, so although she wasn't very surprised, she couldn't help but feel bitter and hopeless.

"Junior Brother Naruto, I hope you manage to get away..." she thought. At the same time, she performed an incantation gesture, sending a flying sword out with the power of Lightness-in-Heaviness. Coughing up more blood, she continued to try to defend herself.

Amano was also laughing bitterly, but his eyes shone with a cold light. He let out a roar, and although his spiritual energy was mostly depleted, he wasn't ready to just give in. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to take some of the enemy with him as he died, if only to buy some more time for Naruto.

Naruto's face was pale and his heart was pounding. The sensation of danger left him so alarmed that he felt like he might die at any moment, leaving him shaking uncontrollably.

He had never been this frightened before in his entire life. Not when he had left his village to light the incense and brave the lightning, not when Taruho had taken him to 10,000 Snakes Valley, not even when he had seen all those fantastic and powerful creatures while traveling.

In all those situations, he had been nervous, but he had also been confident that... he wouldn't die!

But today, he had the distinct sensation... that he was really going to die!

As he flew along, he suddenly realized that he was alone. Then he looked back in shock to see that the seven members of the Uchiha Clan had surrounded Ryuzetsu and Amano, several hundred meters back.

He also saw that Ryuzetsu was coughing up blood. Anyone in this situation would be able to tell that she and Amano wouldn't be able to hold on for very long before they were cut down.

A tremor ran through Naruto as he stood there watching. He began to shake even harder, and his eyes were completely shot with blood. He could feel his very soul screaming at him to run away as quickly as possible.

In fact, Naruto was quite sure that, considering the speed he could maintain, and given that Ryuzetsu and Amano were preventing the enemy from giving chase, there was actually a good chance... that he could get away.

If he did, he could keep on living, he could continue to practice cultivation, and he could pursue what he really wanted: eternal life with no death. Not only would the sect not punish him if he survived, they would even reward him.

However... if he simply ran away, leaving Ryuzetsu and Amano to their deaths, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life. He felt as if his entire body had been split in half, with one half telling him to flee at top speed, otherwise he would die. The other half was telling him that if he left his fellow sect members to die, that he would never be able to rest at ease for the rest of his life!

Panting, he let out a frustrated cry of anger. Blue veins bulged out on his forehead, and he was shaking as hard as a tumbling die. At the moment, he wasn't thinking much about the specifics of the situation, or the potential consequences. His hands clenched into fists as a single thought ran through his head...

"I might be afraid of dying, but... I'm not gonna just run away!" He suddenly began to beat at his chest with his fists. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and he let out a thunderous roar as he suddenly... turned and shot back toward Ryuzetsu and Amano!

He moved so quickly that whistling sounds echoed out in all directions. Amano trembled at the sight of Naruto's sudden reversal in course, and his expression was hard to read. He looked astonished, thankful, and all of a sudden, he started laughing. Then, determination glimmered in his eyes, and without even thinking about defense, he charged toward the Uchiha Clan members with everything he had.

Simultaneously, Ryuzetsu, whose body was splattered with blood from where a flying sword had slashed across her, looked up to see Naruto, eyes bloodshot, roaring as he charged in their direction.

She felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and her jaw dropped. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as numerous emotions flooded through her. She was touched, excited, and shaken.

She knew how much Naruto was afraid of dying, so when she saw him flying toward them, physically trembling, eyes crimson, she could only imagine how much bravery he had summoned... to stop running away, turn around, and then come back for them.

"Get out of here, you idiot! Run! Don't get yourself killed!" Tears streamed down her face. As Naruto ran toward them bellowing at the top of his lungs, she didn't notice that one of the Uchiha Clan disciples in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation was unleashing a palm strike toward her back.

A boom rang out, and blood sprayed out of her mouth. Her vision swam as she tumbled to the ground. Then, one of the Uchiha Clan cultivators' flying swords began to speed through the air toward her head.

When Naruto saw what was happening, he let out an even more violent roar, and pushed forward with another burst of speed, reaching his very limit. He streaked through the air, turning into a beam of light that shot toward Ryuzetsu. Even as the flying sword bore down on her, Naruto landed at her side, scooped her up with one arm, then clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out toward the flying sword.

A boom echoed out as the flying sword was sent spinning away by the force of Naruto's blow.

The Uchiha Clan members were all greatly shocked. Sasuke's eyes flickered with surprise, but then quickly began to radiate icy killing intent.

"Nice. An expert in disguise. I should have noticed you back when you were in the Shadowhell Formation! Listen up everyone, ignore the other two and kill this guy!" As soon as the words left his mouth, murderous looks appeared in the eyes of the other Uchiha Clan members, and they began to close in on Naruto.

Ryuzetsu was in a bit of a daze as Naruto held her in his arms. Before she could do anything, he put her down off to the side and then shot toward the incoming Uchiha Clan cultivators.

His eyes were bright red, and it almost seemed that as of this moment, he wasn't thinking about dying at all. In fact, he wasn't thinking about anything except: Save Amano. Save Ryuzetsu. Kill all enemies!

The nearest of those opponents was in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation, and as he closed in, his hands flickered in an incantation gesture. In response, a glowing awl suddenly appeared, which shot viciously toward Naruto.

"Screw off!" Naruto roared, unleashing a ferocious palm strike. The little awl began to wobble, and when Naruto's palm slammed into it, the glowing light shattered, and the awl was sent spinning away.

The cultivator who had summoned the awl gasped, and an expression of shock flickered across his face. Just when he was about to fall back in retreat, Naruto performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. His wooden sword appeared and shot out like lightning. It didn't matter that his opponent was in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation; he was incapable of evading, and in fact, didn't even have time to react before the sword stabbed into his forehead.

A miserable shriek echoed out as the wooden sword stabbed all the way through him, coming out the other side in a spray of blood. Then, it circled through the air and headed toward the next enemy.

At the same time, one of the Uchiha Clan members in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation performed an incantation gesture, causing mist to roil up around him, making him look like an enormous mist giant. Even as he closed in, Naruto's hand suddenly shot out, and his thumb and index fingers connected. Black light flickered, and the defenses provided by the mist could do nothing to stop the black light.

Throat Crushing Grasp!

Cracking sounds rang out as the mist dissipated. The cultivator's eyes went wide at the sight of the arm grabbing his neck. Then, his throat was completely crushed.

Everything happened with incredible speed. Only a few breaths of time had passed since Naruto had begun his charge, and already, two members of the Uchiha Clan had been killed!

Amano, who had already fallen back to stand at Ryuzetsu's side, gasped, and his eyes went wide with shock.

Ryuzetsu was completely and utterly taken aback. The Naruto she was seeing right now was completely different from the one she remembered, causing her to pant in disbelief. Was this really the same Naruto who was so afraid of dying?

At this point, the remaining shocked members of the Uchiha Clan finally unleashed their killing moves. These were their most powerful trump cards, one being a flying sword, another a pearl, and the last, a little cauldron, all of which shot toward Naruto.

Astonishingly, the three of them were joining forces to attack simultaneously!

Of that group of three, two were in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation, and one was in the seventh. Their combined attack was completely vicious as they went all out with everything they had to try to strike down Naruto when he couldn't dodge.

Naruto's eyes were glowing red as the three closed in on him. Even as their magical devices bore down on him, he curled his arms and legs up until he looked like a ball. Previously, Ryuzetsu had mocked the big black wok he wore on his back, but now, it covered him up completely.

The little cauldron which had been unleashed by the seventh level cultivator slammed into the black wok, causing a boom to echo out that could shake heaven and earth. Cracks spread out across the wok, but it held strong against the cauldron.

Next was the pearl. Rumbling sounds echoed out as it slammed into the wok. The wok couldn't hold up any longer, and exploded, transforming into countless black fragments that showered out in all directions. Naruto shot out from the wreckage, flying toward the seventh level cultivator.

When the man saw Naruto flying toward him, his face fell. He immediately fell back, but couldn't move fast enough.

None of the magical protective items the man had could do anything to stop Naruto, who slammed into him, causing the cracking sounds of breaking bones to ring out. Instantly, Naruto went in for another attack, butting him with his head.

BOOOMMMM!

"No!" screamed the man. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and a look of despair filled his eyes, but he couldn't break free from Naruto.

Off to the side, his fellow clan members in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation were nearly scared out of their minds. Trembling, one of them sent a flying sword toward Naruto.

Naruto completely ignored it as he once again lunged toward the middle-aged man.

The flying sword slammed into Naruto, and in a completely shocking twist, it didn't stab into him, but rather, bounced off and was sent spinning away.

Naruto let out a roar, striking the middle-aged man once more. A bloodcurdling scream echoed out as the man died.

To the other two clan members in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation, Naruto, with his bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair, looked like a wild beast. Their scalps began to tingle as he slowly turned to look at them. Without the slightest hesitation, they turned and fled.

Off in the distance, Sasuke was completely shaken by what had just occurred, and he could scarcely even believe what he had just witnessed.

Seeing that the two sixth level cultivators were fleeing, Naruto performed an incantation gesture, then waved his finger. His little wooden sword instantly flew through the air, slashing across the neck of one of the cultivators.

His companion's eyes instantly shone with an unprecedented level of astonishment and terror.

They were the ones who were supposed to be doing the chasing and killing, but now... the tables had turned, and they were being cut down!

In a few short moments, Naruto had already killed four people!

The remaining sixth level cultivator had an ashen face as he went all out to try to escape. His heart was pounding, and he was trembling all over. How could he ever have imagined that the slender, pure and fair Spirit Stream Sect disciple could... be so utterly terrifying?

Naruto's eyes shone with a savage gleam, and he was just about to give chase when, all of a sudden, a sensation of danger welled up in his heart.

At the same time, Ryuzetsu cried out urgently, "Watch out!"

Naruto immediately leaped backward. In almost the exact same instant, a three-meter tall violet skull shot into the area where he had just been standing, then exploded.

A boom rang out as the power of explosion blasted out, slamming into Naruto. For the first time, his Undying Iron Skin felt pain, and blood even oozed out of his mouth as he flew backward.

The person to attack him had been none other than Sasuke, who was in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation.

His expression was unsightly, and a very serious look could be seen in his eyes. After saving his fellow clan member from danger, he flashed through the air toward Naruto. Behind him were two other cultivators, who were in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation. They gritted their teeth and followed along.

Three people were now charging toward Naruto.

Amano wanted to help, but was simply too weak. The attack he had made earlier drained him of the last scrap of spiritual energy he had, and blood was currently seeping out of the corners of his mouth. Unfortunately, he was in no state to fight.

Ryuzetsu had been seriously injured, and as she anxiously watched Naruto fighting, she realized that all of the previous hostility and prejudice she had felt toward him were gone.

Naruto's face was ashen as more blood oozed out of his mouth. He appeared to be on the verge of collapsing, and had seemingly lost much of the speed he had been capable of earlier. Seeing that, Sasuke and his companions closed in for the kill.

However, as they closed in, a brutal gleam appeared in Naruto's eyes. While it was true that his Undying Iron Skin couldn't completely block Sasuke's attack moments ago, the truth was that it had absorbed the majority of the force of the attack. His current weak state, and even the blood oozing out of his mouth, were all an act.

In the blink of an eye, he redoubled his speed. Furthermore, instead of retreating, he switched directions, passing Sasuke toward his true target... the two sixth level Uchiha Clan cultivators.

Sasuke's face flickered, and even as he made to block Naruto's path, Naruto's wooden sword shot toward him. Sasuke performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, summoning the same skull from earlier. Rumbling sounds echoed out, but Sasuke was incapable of stopping Naruto.

A fierce gleam appeared in Sasuke's eyes, and he waved his sleeve, causing a lantern to materialize, which expanded out in a fireball that sped toward Naruto.

At the same time, the two weaker cultivators were crying out in shock and falling back in retreat. However, Naruto moved as fast as lightning, and was almost instantly upon one of them, whereupon he reached out with his thumb and index finger, causing a flickering black glow to appear as he pinched his fingers together.

Throat Crushing Grasp!

The nearest Uchiha Clan cultivator screamed, and then a cracking sound echoed out as his neck was crushed. At the same time, the blisteringly hot fireball was closing in on Naruto from behind, and there was clearly no time for him to jump out of the way. Instantly, it slammed into him.

A sea of flames exploded out, surrounding Naruto, and causing both Ryuzetsu and Amano to shout out in alarm: "Naruto!"

Further off, the surviving cultivator among the duo seemed delighted at the sight of Naruto being consumed by the fire, and even started laughing.

But then something barreled out from within the sea of flames to appear directly in front of that laughing cultivator. His eyes went wide, and before he could even retreat, Naruto kicked down viciously, crushing the man's head into his torso. He didn't even have a chance to scream before he was completely dead.

By this point, Naruto was panting, and his eyes were even more shot with blood than before. Wounds riddled his body, and blood was oozing out of his mouth as he slowly looked up to glare at the last member of the Uchiha Clan... Sasuke!

Being stared at in such a way caused Sasuke's heart to prickle. His cultivation base was in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, and he could be considered one of the Chosen in his clan. Although he didn't quite have the status of crown prince, he had the approval of the patriarch and had experienced numerous deadly battles with beasts in the Fallenstar Mountains. Such deadly tempering had given him extraordinary battle prowess.

As such, he completely looked down upon disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect. Although they far exceed him in terms of status, to him, cultivators from the big sects were like flowers in a flowerpot. Although they had extraordinary divine abilities, when it came to battles of life and death, they couldn't possibly match up to him.

And yet now, Naruto caused terror to well up inside of him. In fact, the moment that Naruto's eyes locked onto him, he felt more frightened than any time he had encountered a wild beast in the Fallenstar Mountains.

That gaze contained a ferocity that seemed to wish to consume him alive, and caused coldness to spread out in Sasuke's heart.

When he thought about the fact that this person had slaughtered six of his fellow clan members in quick succession, he was completely and utterly shaken. In fact, what was most unbelievable of all was that this person's cultivation base... was merely in the great circle of the sixth level of Chakra Condensation.

"He's way too powerful and fast! He obviously cultivates some sort of body refinement magic, and has cultivated it to the level that he can kill people in one blow!

"Furthermore, his defenses are terrifying!

"He doesn't have any magical techniques, but his control over his flying sword is incredible. The sword not only moves with unimaginable speed, it's backed with astonishing power. And that wooden sword is definitely no ordinary item. It's obviously something so incredible it can kill someone in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation!

"This guy must be a famous Chosen from the Spirit Stream Sect. How come I've never heard his name before? Naruto!" In his shock, Sasuke felt a desire to fight burning within him. He waved his hand, causing three fist-sized jade skulls to fly out.

His expression was very serious as he looked over at Naruto.

"I underestimated you, but that's not going to happen again. Let's see which is more powerful, the magical techniques of your Spirit Stream Sect, or the killer ghouls of my Uchiha Clan!"

Even as his words continued to echo out, Sasuke performed an incantation gesture, causing the three skulls to suddenly begin to scream in very lifelike fashion. They also rapidly grew larger, until each one was fully three meters tall. Then, they all shot toward Naruto.

Naruto's breath came in ragged pants. His mind was a blank, devoid of any thinking. He had forgotten about the possibility of dying, and the only thing he had was the impulse to cut down his opponent.

As the skulls closed in on him, he quickly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then waved his finger, sending his little wooden sword screaming out, to be joined by two other ordinary flying swords. Instantly, massive amounts of sword light filled the area as Naruto began his charge.

There was also a little shield which appeared and began to fly around him, radiating magical light.

A moment later, Naruto and his flying swords slammed into the skulls, causing massive rumbling sounds to echo out. Instantly, fierce fighting broke out between Naruto and Sasuke.

Sasuke was in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, with a cultivation base much more profound that Naruto's. However, in terms of power and defense, as the two fought, it became obvious that they were about even.

Waves of shock battered Ryuzetsu's heart. She was so nervous that her hands were clenched into fists, and her fingernails dug painfully into her palms.

The annoying Naruto she remembered from the competition was nowhere to be seen. He had been replaced by someone with veins of steel, someone who was able to fight with Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan!

"I misjudged him... This is the real Naruto...

"He really is afraid of dying, but to come back and fight to the death like he has done takes far more courage than that possessed by most ordinary people..." As she looked at Naruto, Ryuzetsu's eyes glowed with increased vigor.

"Even though he fears death, his heart is strong, and he has principles. Even if he is afraid of getting killed, he won't give up on his companions..."

Ear-splitting booms rang out constantly. Before long, Naruto's two ordinary flying swords were destroyed. Only his wooden sword remained. However, the three skulls were much dimmer than before, and were clearly significantly damaged as they flew back to Sasuke.

Naruto took advantage of the opportunity that provided to launch another attack. Blood sprayed out of Sasuke's mouth as Naruto's Throat Crushing Grasp latched onto his arm. Cracking sounds rang out as the bones were shattered. However, Sasuke still managed to spit a tiny sword out of his mouth, which shot toward Naruto and stabbed a full inch into his shoulder!

Not even the Undying Iron Skin could stop it, and blood immediately began to flow. Sasuke instantly shot backward, but before he could get very far, Naruto, eyes bloodshot and completely disregarding his own injuries, gave chase at top speed.

Sasuke's face looked extremely unsightly as he clenched his jaw in the face of the deadly situation that was developing. He quickly performed an incantation gesture and then tapped his forehead, causing his entire body to tremble. Even as all of the Chakra and blood in his body began to surge violently, he slapped his hand down onto the crown of his head.

"Naruto, someone is going to die today, and it will be either me or you!" On any other occasion, Sasuke would have already ceased fighting. But this was a critical moment for his clan, and he knew that he had to kill Naruto. He quickly spit out some of his life blood, which was voraciously consumed by the three skulls.

"Ghoul Bloodbath!" he howled as he unleashed his secret magic. The three skulls' eyes began to glow with mysterious light as they shot toward Sasuke and began to madly chew away at his flesh and blood as they tried to burrow into his body.

The bizarre sight caused Ryuzetsu and Amano to gasp. Simultaneously, Sasuke let out a miserable howl. His entire body was shaking, and his expression was completely vicious as a black fog roiled out from inside of him, transforming him into a three-meter-tall ghoul!

"Die!" he roared, shoving his hand out as he shot toward Naruto.

"You'll be the one to die!" Naruto howled. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and then he pointed up into the air. Spiritual energy roiled madly out of him, shooting up into the air to form the shocking image of a cauldron!

This was none other than...

Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning!

"Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning!?" Amano and Ryuzetsu were both shocked, and expressions of intense astonishment appeared on their faces.

That was especially true of Ryuzetsu. Having mastered the art of Lightness-in-Heaviness, she knew how difficult Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning was, and that on all of the south bank, only a few people could do it.

Rumbling echoed out as the huge cauldron slammed into the ghoul. The ground quaked as it screamed and collapsed into numerous strands of black fog that roiled out in all directions, revealing Sasuke.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he slammed down onto the ground. Looking up bitterly at the huge cauldron, he murmured, "Violet Chakra... Cauldron Summoning..."

With that, he struggled to turn his head to look one more time at Naruto before passing away into death. The secret magic he had unleashed inflicted serious damage on his internal organs. That, coupled with a blow from the Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning that destroyed even the ghoul, ensured that he had no hope of surviving.

Even as he died, his eyes were still staring at Naruto.

Naruto looked at the dead Sasuke, and then suddenly sagged in place. His internal spiritual energy had been vastly depleted, leaving him dizzy and as weak as a deflated balloon. He stood there, shivering, swaying back and forth, his face pale. He almost didn't dare to believe that he had actually killed all these people.

As he thought back to the events which had just played out, he suddenly noticed a sweet taste, which was the blood oozing out of his mouth.

"I'm bleeding…" he thought. "I... I almost got killed!" Everywhere hurt, especially his shoulder. There were also numerous burns all over his body, which pulsed with pain. As Naruto thought back to the fight, fear welled up within him, and he trembled.

"Why... why did I come back? That... was so dangerous. I might have lost my little life... I, Naruto, am always careful in everything I do. How could I have been so impulsive...?" Just as post-traumatic stress was about to hurl him into regret, something extremely soft and yet simultaneously firm leapt into his arms. He could feel curves, and could smell a delicate fragrance. It was none other than Ryuzetsu.

At first, he was surprised, but his expression quickly turned serious. Holding Ryuzetsu tight, he calmly said, "Elder Sister Ryuzetsu, fear not. With Naruto here, no one will be able to harm a hair on your head!"

Even as he spoke, his hand suddenly found itself resting on a soft, curved surface...

"Thank you, thank you..." she gushed emotionally, tears streaming down her face. It took her a moment to realize that somehow she was in Naruto's arms. And then she realized what his hands were doing behind her, and her face reddened. She quickly backed up and looked at him angrily.

Naruto cleared his throat, savoring the sensation he had just experienced, and mused that Ryuzetsu definitely deserved to be known as one of the top beauties on the south bank.

A strange expression could be seen on Amano's face. Clearing his throat, he smiled at Naruto. "Junior Brother Naruto, we'll have time later to think about everything that has happened here. The Uchiha Clan is definitely going to send more people to kill us, and this time it will most likely be the most powerful experts they have under the level of Foundation Establishment. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible."

Naruto shivered. He had just used every trick he had at his disposal to beat these people. The mere thought of anyone showing up who was more powerful than Sasuke caused Naruto's face to grow pale. Looking at the chaos around him, he instantly nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right, let's get out of here, as quickly as possible!" With that, he instantly began to run away. He cut a very different image than the vicious fighter with veins of steel. However, this time, Ryuzetsu didn't find it annoying, but actually rather charming. As she followed along, she thought back to the vicious fight he had gone through to rescue her, and the glow in her eyes grew stronger.

Amano shook his head. Quickly gathering up the Uchiha Clan members' bags of holding, he caught up with Naruto and handed them over.

"Junior Brother Naruto, these are your spoils of war."

Naruto threw them into his robe without even looking at them. As of this point, he couldn't stop shaking, and could only think of one thing: fleeing.

A short time ago….

Back in the Fallenstar Mountains, in the Uchiha Clan's necropolis, the lake of blood was surrounded by the various nodes that formed the spell formation. When the first Uchiha Clan member fell to Naruto's hand, one of those nodes collapsed, and the blood inside dried up.

This scene caused the Uchiha Clan members to stare in shock. However, before any of them could react, the same thing happened to a second node, then a third, a fourth and a fifth...

Rumbling sounds echoed out continuously.

The Uchiha Clan was completely in shock, and one face after another fell. Then, the patriarch in the middle of the lake of blood slowly opened his eyes.

In that exact moment, a boom rang out from the node which Sasuke had recently occupied.

"I can't believe that Sasuke... was just killed!"

"They're all dead. All seven people who were sent out have been killed!"

"How is this even possible? Weren't they going after two lowly Outer Sect disciples? Could it be that the Spirit Stream Sect knows about us, and sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator?!" The Uchiha Clan members couldn't suppress their shock, and a huge commotion instantly broke out, along with looks of fear and terror.

"Pipe down!" said an icy voice, which cut through all of the clamor. It was none other than the Foundation Establishment patriarch. His voice echoed out like a thunderclap, causing the rest of the clan members to tremble and look nervously over at him.

"The heaven-defying chance to change our destiny, to expel the seal from within our blood, is a chance we will only come across once in a thousand years," he said slowly. "Since the decision has been made, there is no need to let our imaginations run wild. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator had set foot into the security spell formation I have set up, I would have detected it. As of this moment... no Foundation Establishment cultivator has come, nor have any words been sent back. What are you people getting flustered for?" An unsightly expression could be seen on his face; were it not for the fact that he had to maintain the spell formation, he would have personally gone out to wipe out Naruto and the others.

However, if he left, the Inverse Blood spell formation, which was the only way their clan could break free from the Spirit Stream Sect, would unleash a powerful backlash. Although he might be able to survive, the rest of the clan would find their blood flowing in reverse, and would die.

"It wouldn't necessarily take a Foundation Establishment cultivator to kill Sasuke and his group. Those two Outer Sect disciples were either concealing the level of their cultivation bases, or have some sort of rare magical items!

"Even if they were concealing their cultivation bases, at the most, they might be at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation. As for magical items... the more powerful they are, the harder they will be for Chakra Condensation cultivators to use.

"Madara!" The old man's eyes glittered brightly as he slapped his hand down onto the surface of the lake of blood. Immediately, the blood began to ripple as a young man rose up from within, clad in a blood-red robe.

He was exceedingly handsome, with chiseled features, and as soon as he opened his eyes, they glowed with the color of blood. Even as his energy surged up, nine blood-colored ghouls appeared around him, which emitted soundless howls.

When the surrounding members of the Uchiha Clan saw the young man, excited expressions could be seen on their faces, and they clasped hands and bowed their heads.

When the patriarch looked at the young man, his eyes gleamed with kindness and praise. His voice was soft as he said, "Heng'er, you are the crown prince of the Uchiha Clan, and with a cultivation base of the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, you are our most powerful expert next to me... You are well-qualified to handle this task. Take nine people with you... and kill all of the Outer Sect disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect!"

The young man nodded, then coldly responded, "I won't return until they're dead."

He leapt up, and the nine blood-colored ghouls transformed into a blood mist that lifted him up into the air. One by one, he nodded at nine other clan members, after which the ten of them left.

Soon, ten figures were speeding out of the Uchiha Clan mansion. The young man named Madara then waved his hand, causing blood mists to appear beneath all of their feet, after which they flew off at top speed.

They moved with incredible speed as they used a clan blood tracking technique to head toward the area where Sasuke and the others had been killed.

Madara was in the ninth level of Chakra Condensation. As for the rest of the group, five were in the same level as Sasuke had been, the eighth level of Chakra Condensation. The rest were in the seventh level.

A squad like this was the most powerful force that the Uchiha Clan could afford to send out at the moment.

After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Madara and his group burst out of the jungle of the Fallenstar Mountains to appear in the location where Sasuke and his group of seven had died.

The shocking sight of all the corpses caused the faces of the other nine clan members to flicker.

However, Madara looked coldly at the corpses, and especially at those whose necks had been crushed, and his eyes began to shine with a mysterious light.

"A body refinement cultivator!"

He suddenly flickered through the air to appear next to Sasuke's corpse. After studying it thoughtfully for a few breaths of time, he reached down, pushed his hand onto the ground and closed his eyes. After a moment, his eyes opened.

"Interesting. I can sense the lingering fluctuations of Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning...

"That means he simultaneously cultivates both magic and his body. With such shocking fleshly body power, and an impressive magical technique, it's no wonder he cut down Sasuke and the others.

"He must be one of the Chosen of the Spirit Stream Sect. Zabuza perhaps? Or is he A?" A brutal gleam rose up in Madara's eyes, within which flickered a deep desire to do battle.

"All of you pick a different direction to search in," he said, his voice as cold as ice. "Once you track them down, send me a message immediately!" With that, the others nodded in affirmation and then scattered in different directions.

With a cold snort, Madara picked a direction to begin searching, and flew off. "The security spell formation is vast. You won't be able to leave it for the next half month. You people... are dead!"

At dusk on the following day, Naruto and the others were still speeding along. Occasionally, they would make attempts to use their transmission jade slips, but never succeeded in making contact with the sect.

Thankfully, they had plenty of medicinal pills. The seven Uchiha Clan cultivators Naruto had killed had all had bags of holding. Although the resources inside weren't at quite the same level as what was available in the Spirit Stream Sect, at a time like this, it was more than sufficient.

With medicinal pills to bolster them, Ryuzetsu and Amano were in high spirits. With their injuries under control, they managed to continue on through the entire night.

Naruto trembled in fear the entire time. The slightest breeze or rustling leaf would cause sweat to break out on his forehead. His heart felt tight, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He was also still sore from the fighting, which often left him gritting his teeth from the pain.

It wasn't that the pain was unendurable. Actually, it didn't measure up at all to the pain he had felt while cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique. What bothered him was the actual sight of the blood and wounds, and the fear that they might worsen and eventually become life-threatening. He couldn't help but grimace in anxiety at the thought of it.

Back before all of this had started, Ryuzetsu would definitely have mocked him for that, and thought less of him than before. But now, everything was different, and a warm look could be seen in her eyes as she continuously comforted him.

"It's okay. Don't be scared, Junior Brother Naruto. This wound looks bad, but it's not life-threatening.

"Don't move, I'll put some more medicinal ointment on it..."

Seeing Naruto wince in pain despite the critical danger they were in caused Ryuzetsu to secretly smile. Within that smile were numerous undefinable emotions.

She knew how much Naruto feared death, and it was that knowledge that left her so moved and shaken that he had returned. In fact, she even felt as if there were a superlative bravery lurking somewhere inside of him.

That bravery could give birth to a figure with veins of steel, which was something she would never be able to forget.

With Ryuzetsu constantly comforting him, Naruto started to feel more and more pleased with himself, and was starting to get the feeling that taking such a deadly risk had definitely been the right thing to do. After all, it had resulted in the beautiful Ryuzetsu treating him so warmly all of a sudden.

When Amano saw what was happening, he looked on with smiling eyes. Considering that they were all fleeing for their lives together, it was only natural that warm feelings would develop between all of them, and that they would become closer.

"Junior Brother Naruto, Junior Sister Ryuzetsu," he said, his tone serious, "if we can make it back to the sect alive, then I'll remember this kindness you've shown me, for the rest of my life!"

"If we can make it back...?" A look of longing appeared in Ryuzetsu's eyes, but she quickly sighed and looked over at Naruto. Pain rose up in her heart as she realized that the chances of the three of them getting back alive... were miniscule.

Naruto sank further into silence.


	15. Chapter 15

Time passed. Two days went by, during which the three of them continued along with almost no rest. Repeated attempts to use their jade slips all ended in failure.

Amano's injuries were becoming more serious, as were Ryuzetsu's, whose face was becoming more and more ashen. Gradually, even their mental faculties were degrading.

Amano sighed, turned to Naruto and Ryuzetsu and said, "It's too bad we can't just hide somewhere and weather the storm, but we really need to get word back to the sect. Of course, if my calculations are correct, the Uchiha Clan's ceremony will be ending soon, and once that happens... their Foundation Establishment expert will be coming after us. No matter how we try to hide from him, we would be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt."

It was at this point that Naruto's face suddenly flickered. Grabbing Ryuzetsu and Amano, he leaped into a nearby ditch and squatted down.

Ryuzetsu and Amano both had very serious expressions on their faces, and they immediately ceased any chatter.

Before much time had passed, a beam of light appeared in the air up above, which was actually a blood mist. Within the mist was a Uchiha Clan member in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, who was looking around carefully in all directions. However, because Naruto had led the group into hiding, they weren't noticed, and the Uchiha Clan member proceeded along into the distance.

Naruto's heart was pounding as he watched the cultivator disappearing. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and he almost wanted to jump out and attack the man. However, he couldn't do that unless he was certain that he could kill him. Otherwise, other members of the Uchiha Clan might show up.

"They've caught up..." said Ryuzetsu, sighing. She looked over at Naruto and hesitated, as if there were something she wanted to say to him. However, before she could, he grabbed her hand and started running again.

The three of them said nothing as they proceeded along. They felt as if everything were weighing down on them, crushing down onto their hearts. The shadow of death loomed over them larger than ever, threatening to consume them completely.

"There's still hope!" Amano suddenly said. "Although the patriarch of the Uchiha Clan is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, far beyond us in terms of cultivation, his spell formation has to have limits. One of the patriarchs of my Sky Clan is also a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and I was once lucky enough to see a security spell formation that he set up. It could cover a distance of 5,000 kilometers, and required sealing certain spell nodes ahead of time."

Ryuzetsu's eyes gleamed as she responded, "Elder Brother Amano, do you mean that even though the spell formation was set up ahead of time by the Uchiha Clan Patriarch, even if it exceeds 5,000 kilometers, it won't be by much?!"

"Exactly!" Amano declared. "Therefore, the further away we get from the Uchiha Clan, the greater the chances that our jade slips will work. If we can just get word back to the sect, they'll definitely send someone to save us!"

"5,000 kilometers," Naruto muttered, gritting his teeth. "At our current speed, that will take eight or nine more days to reach the border..."

As they proceeded along, they were forced to hide on numerous occasions when Uchiha Clan members neared. However, each time, Naruto's uncanny ability to sense danger kept them safe.

Considering how on guard he was, and the fact that he was pulling Ryuzetsu and Amano along with him as they fled, Naruto was getting more and more exhausted, his face more and more ashen.

Amano and Ryuzetsu's injures continued to worsen, and as a result, their speed suffered. It eventually reached the point where Naruto was virtually carrying both of them.

Naruto was more cautious than ever as he led them along for three days straight.

Three days of running and hiding left Naruto more and more drained. His face was gaunt as he led the group into a valley. However, after taking only a few steps inside, his face flickered, and he pulled Ryuzetsu and Amano off to the side, where they hid behind a boulder. Unfortunately, they were a bit too slow, and moments later they could hear the sound of someone whistling through the air toward them.

A beam of white light descended from midair, slamming down into the rock they were hiding behind, completely shattering it. Amano coughed up a mouthful of blood, and Ryuzetsu couldn't prevent blood from oozing out of the corners of her mouth. A cold snort rang out through the air.

"So, this is where you've been hiding!"

A Uchiha Clan cultivator appeared, standing on a blood mist. He was in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation, and held a mirror in his left hand. As soon as he saw them, he slapped his bag of holding and produced a jade slip. Just when he was about to transmit some information, Amano cried out, "Don't let him make contact!"

The ashen-faced Ryuzetsu was just about to unleash a flying sword when Naruto, who had been slowly backing up, gritted his teeth and stopped in place. Eyes bloodshot, knees quivering, he focused his Chakra and blood, and then the ground beneath his feet shattered as he launched himself into the air, turning into a beam of light.

Even as the Uchiha Clan cultivator was about to transmit the information, Naruto burst toward him with incredible speed. The cultivator's face fell, and he fell back, unable to successfully make contact. Performing an incantation gesture, he swung the mirror with his left hand, causing a beam of light to shoot toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes glittered with a ferocious light; instead of dodging, he allowed the white light to slam into him. His charge carried him forward toward the shocked Uchiha Clan cultivator, whereupon he reached out with his right hand, touching his thumb and index finger together. A black light shot out and latched onto the cultivator's throat.

Throat Crushing Grasp!

A cracking sound rang out, and the cultivator's eyes went wide. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and he toppled over dead, the message to his fellow clan members unsent.

Blood was also oozing out of Naruto's mouth as he collected up the enemy's bag of holding, then walked back over to Ryuzetsu. There, he trembled and almost fell to the ground, but gritted his teeth and managed to stay on his feet.

"Let's go!" he said, pulling Ryuzetsu and Amano along.

"Let go of me!" Amano said. "You two go. Without me, you'll be a bit faster."

His gaze was one of determination as he looked at Naruto and Ryuzetsu.

Ryuzetsu looked deeply at Naruto, and suddenly said something she had been contemplating saying for the past few days. "Junior Brother Naruto, why don't you go alone...?"

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled. "I'm scared of dying, but I'm risking my life. There's no way you two are going to make that sacrifice mean nothing! Come, let's go! Together!" Not giving them any chance to speak further, he pulled the two of them along. Amano and Ryuzetsu didn't say anything further, but they were more moved than ever.

Naruto was extremely cautious as he led them forward, constantly changing directions, and being careful to avoid the Uchiha Clan cultivators when they got close. Three more days passed. It was evening, and the occasional bolt of lightning danced across the sky. Black clouds were forming, and rain began to fall, great bead-sized drops that caused splashing sounds to fill the air.

It started to get very cold, causing Ryuzetsu and Amano to shiver; their faces were only getting more ashen. Nervousness clutched at Naruto's heart. Knowing that the other two wouldn't be able to survive in such bitter cold, he found a cave in a mountain, where he started a fire.

After sealing the entrance of the cave to make sure the light of the fire didn't seep out, he sat down cross-legged across from Ryuzetsu and Amano.

The fire hissed and popped, and let off enough heat to gradually dispel the cold. A bit of color gradually returned to the faces of Ryuzetsu and Amano, although they still looked very pale.

The three of them sat silently in the cave, watching the fire, and stewing in anxiety.

Finally, Naruto chuckled and broke the silence, "In three more days, we should be able to pass that 5,000 kilometer mark. Hahaha! Just wait until we get back to the sect. This is definitely going to count as a big meritorious service. I wonder what reward we'll get?"

Ryuzetsu looked at him, her gaze soft.

Amano was about to laugh, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he coughed up some blood, and his face paled as he swayed on the verge of collapse.

After all the days of running, they had long since run out of medicinal pills.

Naruto rose to his feet and was just about to go over and examine Amano, when suddenly his face flickered. He waved his sleeve out to protect his two friends as the stone he had rolled into place to block the firelight suddenly exploded!

A huge boom echoed out as the rock shattered. As Naruto waved the shrapnel aside, cold air came rushing in. The fire danced, its flickering light revealing a tall, sturdily built man standing outside.

He was muscular, with icy eyes, and a long spear in hand. He was in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, and seemed to be even stronger than Sasuke had been.

"The crown prince was dead on," he said. "With rain like this and injuries like yours, you couldn't handle the cold, and were forced to find a place like this to hide. I had to search over a hundred mountains before I found you, but here you are."

Even as the words were still leaving the man's mouth, Naruto's eyes blazed with ferocity as he leaped into action. Although the burly man seemed like the impulsive type, he was actually quite cautious. Instead of charging into the cave to fight, he actually fell back.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto was out of the cave and in the pouring rain.

Clearly, the burly man didn't intend to actually fight, and was focused completely on defense. That caused Naruto's heart to begin to thump. He was getting a very bad feeling, and yet he gritted his teeth and ignored any possibility of injury as he charged forward in a mad attack.

A gust of frigid wind blew into the cave, extinguishing the fire. Amano tried to struggle to his feet, but then coughed up another mouthful of blood. Ryuzetsu gritted her teeth and hobbled to the mouth of the cave, where she performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, sending a flying sword shooting toward the burly man.

A moment later, a bloodcurdling scream echoed out into the stormy night. The burly man had been stabbed through the chest by a wooden sword, and yet, in the moment before dying, he hurled his spear out, which partially stabbed into Naruto's right thigh.

The burly man glared at Naruto. Groaning, he said, "You won't get away! The crown prince will be here soon!"

Then he coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his head slumped over in death.

Naruto's face was pale, and he was trembling. In order to kill the man as quickly as possible, he had drawn upon so much energy that his injuries had worsened. Pain radiated up his right leg, and when he looked down, he saw the spear still embedded into his flesh. He was also soaked with rainwater, which intermixed with the blood to flow down onto the ground. He felt half frozen to death.

Ryuzetsu staggered over, and when she saw his leg, she began to weep. She reached out, grabbed hold of the spear, and gingerly pulled it out of his leg.

To Naruto, it felt as if his flesh and bones were being ripped apart. He trembled, but held back from shouting out. The dying words of his opponent, plus the fact that the man had obviously been trying to buy time, caused his heart to sink even lower than before.

He could even sense fluctuations in the wind that told him it wouldn't be very long before more pursuing members of the Uchiha Clan showed up.

Ryuzetsu threw his arm over her shoulder, and the two of them managed to get back into the cave. Naruto kept the spear. Back in the cave, Naruto began to pant. His right leg hurt, but thankfully the spear hadn't stabbed into the bone. After binding the wound, he could still feel it, but considering the mortal danger they were in, it wasn't a major issue.

"We need to go. The Uchiha Clan could show up at any moment!" Taking a deep breath, Naruto slowly rose to his feet.

He looked down at Amano, and saw him laying there, struggling for breath. Their days of flight had been like a torment, and he was losing his ability to keep his injuries under control. Ryuzetsu was sallow and wan. Her Chakra passageways had been severely injured, and some had even been severed. It had been an incredible struggle for her to emerge and help Naruto in the fight earlier, and now all she could do was look up at him.

In the darkness of the stormy night, her eyes seemed especially beautiful.

"Junior Brother Naruto..." she said softly. "Forget about us. You're much faster on your own... Go!" Off to the side, Amano struggled into a sitting position. Looking exhaustedly at Naruto, he nodded in agreement.

Naruto's eyes were bloodshot as he said, "We can get out of the 5,000 kilometer area in only three days, guys, shut your m-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Amano cut him off. "Junior Brother Naruto, you escaping and getting word to the sect is the best chance Junior Sister Ryuzetsu and I have..."

Naruto chuckled bitterly. He was no three-year-old child to believe a lie like that. He knew that even if he did escape and get word to the sect, by the time anyone arrived to help... Amano and Ryuzetsu would already be dead.

Seeing that Naruto seemed determined to stay, Amano started laughing. "Fine. If I die, then you'll leave, right?"

A tremor ran through Naruto as he realized that Amano was stirring his last bit of spiritual energy as if to destroy his own Chakra passageways.

Amano looked at him calmly and continued, "Junior Brother Naruto, are you going to go, or not?!"

Naruto was miserable and heartbroken. He took a few steps backward, mixed emotions on his face as he stared at Amano and Ryuzetsu.

A gust of wind blew a strand of Ryuzetsu's hair across her face. She tucked it behind her ear and looked at Naruto. Although her face was ashen, somehow, she looked even more beautiful than ever. Her voice soft, she murmured, "I hope... if there's another life after this one... that I'll have the chance to meet you again... Junior Brother Naruto... you have to stay alive!"

The instant Naruto heard the words "stay alive," a violent tremor ran through him, and he felt as if he had been struck in the chest by a hammer. Taking another long look at Ryuzetsu and Amano, he finally turned and walked out of the cave, unsure of what exactly he was feeling inside. A moment later, he was speeding through the stormy night.

Seeing that Naruto had finally chosen to leave, Amano let out a soft sigh. Ryuzetsu watched him leave, wishing him the best in her heart. She truly wished... that she could make time flow in reverse, that she could return back to the time... when she had first met Naruto.

Everything was quiet for a moment, but then Amano and Ryuzetsu suddenly looked out in Naruto's direction, and their faces flickered.

His cultivation base was erupting with power, his internal spiritual energy surging outward, even causing the rainwater to distort.

He was like a brightly burning torch on a dark night that not even the coldness brought by the rain could dispel. Even someone very far away would be able to sense it.

Lightning snaked across the sky as Uchiha Clan cultivators from several different directions suddenly sensed Naruto.

Madara's eyes glittered as he looked in the direction of the upsurge of power.

Naruto flickered into motion, flying up the mountainside past the cave. As he flew by, Ryuzetsu and Amano could hear him whispering something to them.

"I'll get their attention. You two find a way to escape... Come on, go!"

Tears began to stream down Ryuzetsu's face as her heart was battered by incredible waves of emotion. Amano was likewise shaken.

At the same time, Naruto burst out with incredible speed as he picked a different direction to flee in.

Naruto sped along, cackling madly and crying out at the top of his lungs, "Dead! They're dead! Uchiha Clan, I can't wipe all of you out, but the Spirit Stream Sect will definitely come and kill you all!"

He appeared to be heading in a direction which would quickly lead out of the 5,000 kilometer area. Furthermore, from the way he was yelling, it seemed obvious that his two compatriots were dead, and that he was hysterical. Even if he might die in the attempt, he would break out and pass word to the sect, to make sure that revenge was had.

Madara instantly realized what was happening, and his face flickered. Although he couldn't be sure whether or not Naruto was putting on an act, he could tell that, based on his current speed, he could succeed. Madara definitely didn't dare to gamble with the fate of his sect by ignoring the threat.

He immediately transmitted a message to the other Uchiha Clan cultivators. "Everyone kill him! Even if his friends aren't dead, they're definitely seriously injured. We can track them down after we kill this one!"

All of the Uchiha Clan cultivators shot through the rain at top speed toward Naruto.

Lightning crashed and rain fell. Back in the darkness of the cave in the mountain, Ryuzetsu gritted her teeth and wiped the tears off of her cheeks. Then, her eyes began to glow with determination.

She knew that the only way to save Naruto was to escape the 5,000 kilometer area and get word back to the sect.

She looked over at Amano, whose eyes flickered with the same determination as hers.

"Don't worry about me," he said. "Let's split up. Whichever of us gets out first can bring help from the sect to save Junior Brother Naruto!" Amano was determined to use his last bit of energy to try to break out and get help for Naruto, even if he died in the process.

The two of them took deep breaths and then ran out into the rain, splitting up and heading in two different directions, calling upon all the strength they could manage. They were already on the verge of collapsing, but by sheer force of willpower, they managed to exceed the limits of their bodies.

Thunder boomed and lightning fell. Naruto was speeding along as fast as he could. He had already lost sensation in his right leg, and his eyes were crimson. A sensation of deadly crisis thrummed in every inch of his body.

He was scared, terrified of dying, certain that death was right on his heels, on the very brink of swallowing him up.

He wasn't sure if his actions just now had been impulsive or not, or whether or not he might regret his decision. After all, the purpose of immortal cultivation was to live forever.

In fact, there was still a voice in his head telling him... to run away on his own...

However, he couldn't forget the feeling of what it was like to be struggling with his two friends to survive. That feeling of facing the danger as a team was something he couldn't get rid of. He couldn't forget how Amano had threatened to kill himself to get Naruto to leave, nor the beautiful smile on Ryuzetsu's ashen face.

If he could only pick fear of death, or loyalty to friends, he would pick the latter!

"Elder Sister Ryuzetsu, Elder Brother Amano, you have to stay alive!" Gritting his teeth, he flew onward with reckless abandon. "You want to wipe us out, Uchiha Clan? Alright, bring it on!"

Naruto's eyes glowed with savage fury, like a caged animal ready to fight for its life.

Rain fell in sheets, thunder crashed, and lightning danced across the sky. The world was a mix of darkness and light, filled with rumbling booms and the sound of raindrops smacking onto the ground.

From a distance, everything seemed to be a haze of rain, completely somber and desolate.

Naruto trembled as he sped forward with all the speed he could muster. He flew along, feet pounding the ground, occasionally leaping into the air over some obstacle. He was like an arrow loosed from the bowstring, whistling through the air.

"Have to stay alive," he muttered. "You guys... have to stay alive!" That was what he kept repeating to himself as the images of Ryuzetsu and Amano continued to flash in his mind.

The shadow of death loomed, fusing with the rain, making everything around him seem even colder than usual.

By this point, roughly nine figures were speeding toward him from various directions. The furthest person away from him was Madara, but he was also the fastest. He was like a beam of light stabbing through the sheets of rain, moving faster and faster, causing rumbling sounds to echo out.

"You can't escape! Nobody can escape from our patriarch's spell formation!" Killing intent flickered in Madara's eyes.

He had never imagined that three Outer Sect disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect would manage to evade him for so many days, and in fact, even get close to the border of the spell formation set up by his Patriarch. As for the disciple they were currently closing in on, he had a profound cultivation base, sufficient to not only strike down Sasuke, but numerous other members of the Uchiha Clan.

He was now more convinced than ever that this person was one of the famous Chosen from the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, either Zabuza or A. After all, when it came to the affairs of the south bank, the north bank usually wouldn't interfere.

"Spirit Stream Sect Chosen..." Madara thought, eyes glittering with killing intent, and even a spark of amusement.

Rumbling thunder filled the air as Naruto sped along with gritted teeth. He was panting, and his internal spiritual energy was fading quickly. Because of the rain, it was hard to see anything, and he almost felt as if some primordial ancient beast had swallowed up Heaven and Earth.

Suddenly, Naruto looked up with bloodshot eyes, looking fiercely at certain fluctuations in the rainwater a few dozen meters up ahead. Popping sounds rang out as countless raindrops then exploded and shot toward Naruto.

Behind that sheet of rain was the first Uchiha Clan member who had arrived to intercept Naruto!

He was a middle-aged man, and the ugly scar which ran down his face made him look extremely ferocious. On top of that, he had a cultivation base in the great circle of the seventh level of Chakra Condensation. He shot toward Naruto, hefting a gigantic battle-axe in his right hand. As he closed in, he gripped the haft of the axe with both hands, lifted it high into the air, and swung it down viciously toward Naruto!

"You're not going one step further!" the man barked, his voice booming like thunder.

Naruto didn't hesitate for even a moment. As the axe descended, he sped forward, shooting his left hand out toward the axe itself!

The middle-aged man laughed coldly, pouring more cultivation base power into his hands, causing the axe to scream madly through the air toward Naruto.

In the instant that Naruto extended his left hand, a black flicker of light could be seen as his Undying Iron Skin was unleashed. Even as his left hand made contact with the axe head, it turned completely pitch black.

A boom rang out as Naruto's left hand clamped onto the axe with such incredible force that the surrounding rainwater began to vibrate, and then exploded into a haze.

Pain exploded out within him, and blood flowed, and yet the power of his Undying Iron Skin kept his hand safe, albeit injured.

The middle-aged man frowned, then tried to jerk his axe away. However, Naruto's grip was like an iron vice that kept the giant axe completely locked down; no matter how the middle-aged man struggled, he couldn't move it even a teeny bit.

The man's face flickered, and then he looked up and realized that Naruto's eyes were blazing with flames of madness!

It was a madness that this man had only ever seen within the eyes of various wild beasts in the Fallenstar Mountains.

The man's heart instantly began to pound, and in the blink of an eye, the glow of defensive shields sprang up around him. Without any hesitation, he let go of the axe and fell back.

He was fast, but... Naruto was faster!

Even as his left hand maintained its grip on the axe, his right hand flared with black light, and simultaneously shot out toward the middle-aged man.

His hand pierced through the man's defensive shields, causing cracking sounds to ring out as one layer after another was destroyed. Naruto cut through them like a razor-sharp blade through bamboo. At the same time, because of the current state Naruto was in, his Throat Crushing Grasp suddenly did something it had never done before.

Unexpectedly... a gravitational force appeared, causing the middle-aged man to lurch to a stop. Before he could even react, his entire world was completely superseded by Naruto's pitch-black hand!

A boom rang out as Naruto's hand clamped onto the man's throat and then clenched down hard!

CRACK!

A flicker of disbelief passed through the man's eyes, and then blood oozed out of his mouth. There was no time for him to scream as the bones in his neck were crushed. Then, his head sagged to the side. He was dead!

Disbelief could still be seen in his eyes. Although he had been aware that the person they were chasing was powerful, and had even been prepared going into the fight, the blow he had unleashed moments ago had not been a lethal one. He had only been trying to stop Naruto and buy some time. How could he ever have imagined that this skinny Outer Sect disciple of the Spirit Stream Sect would be so utterly powerful?

In the moment that the man died, two more figures appeared off in the distance. Shockingly, one of them had a cultivation base in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation!

Seeing their dead comrade in Naruto's hand, they let out roars of rage. "Baru Uchiha!"

"You people are forcing me to do this!" Naruto growled. He tossed the corpse aside, then quickly changed directions and shot off at top speed. He was shaking, panting, and yet, his eyes gleamed with an even more intensely brutal light than before.

He knew that he couldn't afford to stop for even a moment. After all, the whole crux of his plan was to get the Uchiha Clan members to follow him. As he changed directions, he could see a sprawling mountain range off in the distance.

Because that particular mountain range wasn't a specific border region, it didn't have a name. It was a separate mountain range than the Fallenstar Mountains, but was comparable in size, and in fact, perhaps even a bit larger. The rain there fell at a steep angle, and the entire area was crashing with lightning.

In fact, when Naruto looked over, the lightning seemed to mass into a sphere which then exploded out into the rain.

Naruto sped in the direction of the mountain range, the two Uchiha Clan members hot on his trail. At the same time, more cultivators were closing in.

There was even a bright beam of light which was none other than Madara, who was getting closer by the moment.

As the Uchiha Clan cultivators closed the distance to Naruto, he got closer and closer to the tree-covered mountains. He was now several dozen meters away, completely soaked as he ran along. As of this moment, he was on the verge of making it into the jungle itself.

"Stop him!" Madara said grimly.

The cultivator closest to Naruto was in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation. He let out a roar, then reached out and grabbed the seventh level clan member next to him. They exchanged a glance, and were instantly thinking the same thing. The seventh level clan member curled up into a ball, and then the other clan member hurled him forward as hard as possible.

Rumbling sounds filled the air as he called upon all the power of his cultivation base to propel his companion through the air. The second cultivator shot through the rain with explosive speed, and in the blink of an eye, was right upon Naruto.

As he closed in, he unleashed his cultivation base, causing thunderous rumbling sounds to echo out. Naruto lurched to a stop, spun, and performed an incantation gesture. The wave of a finger sent his wooden sword flying out, and yet the Uchiha Clan cultivator actually allowed it to stab into him. Even as he passed away into death, a bizarre smile appeared on his face.

Suddenly, he exploded into a cloud of blood and gore that then transformed into a rope of blood that began to entangle Naruto.

Naruto's face fell, and he turned to flee. However, in that moment of distracted retreat, a screaming sound rose up from behind him, which was an arrow!

That arrow had been shot from none other than the cultivator in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, who currently held a quivering bow in his hand.

The sacrifice of the other cultivator led to a critical moment in which Naruto was incapable of dodging!

Naruto's eyes flickered. Stopping in place, he suddenly shot directly toward the speeding arrow.

A boom rang out as the arrow stabbed into Naruto, causing an explosion of pain that left him pale-faced.

The arrow pierced the bone in his shoulder, shattering it. The arrow itself was made from extraordinary materials, and backed by the power of the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, making it incredibly strong. After snapping the bone, it actually sent the skinny Naruto flying through the air past the blood rope!

THUMP!

The arrow slammed into a nearby tree, simultaneously impaling Naruto!

Delight flickered in the eyes of the eighth level cultivator as he flickered into motion, shooting forward and preparing to unleash a second arrow to cut down Naruto!

The other Uchiha Clan cultivators had brutal grins on their faces as they closed in. However, it was in this moment that Madara's expression suddenly flickered.

"Watch out!"

In almost the same moment that Madara's voice echoed out, Naruto, who was still pinned to the tree, looked up. A valiant gleam appeared in his eyes as he reached up, grabbed the arrow which was protruding from his shoulder, then viciously pulled it out, ignoring the stabbing pain that resulted.

Blood spurted out, and the arrow itself dragged out chunks of flesh. The pain itself was so intense that Naruto trembled. And yet, without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art. Using Heaviness-in-Lightness, he flung the arrow back at the Uchiha Clan cultivator.

A piercing scream echoed through the air as the arrow accelerated rapidly.

Because of the use of Heaviness-in-Lightness, the force of the arrow was like a towering mountain.

At the same time, Naruto's hands flashed in an incantation gesture, sending his wooden sword flying out in a second deadly attack. A somber, bleak aura raged; his successive deadly encounters with the members of the Uchiha Clan had provided Naruto with incredible hands-on experience in battle. Furthermore, it showed that he seemed to have incredible talent as a fighter hidden deep in his bones, something he rarely revealed to the world. It was only on display now because of the numerous life-and-death situations he had faced.

The Uchiha Clan cultivator who had been just about to fire a second arrow was taken aback. He had never imagined that Naruto could be so vicious. In fact, now he realized that Naruto might very well have intentionally let himself be struck with the arrow, all with the purpose of being able to make this almost instant counter-attack.

The man fell back instantly. He was in the great circle of the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, and as someone who frequently fought various dangerous beasts in the Fallenstar Mountains, was very experienced. He knew that he had lost the initiative in the fighting, but even as he retreated, he chose not to activate any defenses. Instead, he took advantage of the brief moment he had... to finish drawing the bow!

"Are you gonna block this one?!" he roared, a vicious gleam in his eyes as he launched a second arrow.

In his estimation, Naruto would definitely use his wooden sword to block the arrow, which would eliminate one of the two deadly threats which were heading his way, and would give him back the initiative.

However, it was in this very moment that Naruto's eyes turned bright red; he knew that he couldn't give his opponent even the slightest opportunity to make a move. If he did, then he would most likely be killed.

Gritting his teeth, he decided not to use the wooden sword in defense, and instead allowed the arrow to close in and stab into his abdomen. At the same time, the arrow he had thrown rocketed forward and pierced into the man's chest. Blood sprayed everywhere as the man screamed, his eyes shining with surprise as the force of the blow shoved him backward even faster.

That was when Naruto's wooden sword bore down on the man as though it demanded to end his life. With a swift slashing motion, it completely severed the man's head, which toppled down to the ground.

Having accomplished these things, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, and yet didn't hesitate for a moment to race into the cover of the trees, whereupon he vanished.

After a few dozen breaths of time passed, numerous other Uchiha Clan cultivators arrived on the scene. As they looked around, expressions of shock appeared on their faces as they realized that Naruto was so vicious that he would even injure himself to slay his opponent.

A moment later, a flash of light could be seen as Crown Prince Madara appeared.

He looked at the severed head of his fellow clan member, and then at the other traces of blood in the area. His expression turned grim, and fierce killing intent radiated out from him.

Also in the area were five other clan members, three of whom were in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, and two being in the seventh.

"Izuna, Fugaku, the two of you go search for the others. We can't let ourselves be drawn out of our territory. The rest of you... you're coming with me. We're bringing back this guy's head!" With that, Madara flicked his sleeve and headed into the trees.

The two who were in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation complied with Madara's orders and resumed their searching. The other three followed Madara into the trees, eyes flickering with the desire to kill.

Within the jungle that covered the nameless mountain range, Naruto proceeded along, dizzy and vision blurred. His shoulder, his abdomen, and his right leg were all seriously injured. Because of the cold brought by the rain, he was shivering even more violently than he would have normally been.

"Am I gonna die...?" he thought, chuckling bitterly. The sight of all his injuries, and the bone-stabbing pain that came along with them, caused tears to well up in his eyes.

He suddenly recalled an image of his parents, lying sick on their deathbeds. Then he remembered how he had watched their bodies slowly growing colder in death.

Perhaps that was when he had started to especially fear the idea of dying.

"I want to live!" he thought. He wiped the tears off of his face with his left arm, then gritted his achingly cold teeth as he sped along through the jungle. He had no idea where exactly he was, nor did he have a plan about what to do. There was only one thought in his head. "I have to stay alive!"

It was actually his fear of death which seemed to give him unending power, and kept him going as he sped along through the stormy night.

Gradually, he came to realize that after all the fighting, his cultivation base was stirring, and he was actually not very far away from breaking through to the seventh level of Chakra Condensation.

Eventually, the sun became visible off in the distance, and as the rays of light pierced through the leaves, they reflected off of the falling raindrops, creating a beautiful scene.

Madara and the other three Uchiha Clan cultivators were following him at top speed. Madara's face was growing increasingly unsightly as he realized that their quarry, despite being so seriously wounded, was moving so quickly through the jungle that they weren't making any headway in catching up. After following him for an entire night, they still had no idea exactly where he was.

Furthermore, the rain ensured that the evidence of his passage was quickly washed away. Despite the fact that they were from a cultivator clan in the Fallenstar Mountains, who frequently hunted beasts in the jungle, they were still unable to track him.

"Alright, let's split up," Madara said through gritted teeth. "He's wounded, so he won't be able to run for long. The three of you, stay about three hundred meters apart. When you find him, don't engage! Send me a message immediately!" With that, the other three clan members nodded and headed off in different directions.

Time passed. The next day, Naruto was completely worn out, and was reaching his limit. If it weren't for the fact that he was running for his life, he would have long since collapsed.

His lips were parched and cracked, his face haggard, his pace slowing. After proceeding for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, his face suddenly flickered as he saw a blur of motion to the right. However, no one attacked him. Instead, the figure fell back immediately.

It was a long-faced young man, one of the three Uchiha Clan members who had fanned out to search for him. Even as the young man fell back, he pulled out a jade slip which he pressed down onto to send a message.

Naruto's face sank, and he pushed onward into the jungle even faster than before.

The long-faced young man watched him go. Naruto frightened him, and even as he debated whether or not to give chase immediately, he saw two figures speeding toward him from off in the distance, and his expression brightened.

Those were the two other clan members, and further off in the distance, he could even see Madara.

Based on how fast they were moving, the two other clan members would arrive in about ten breaths of time. Madara was a bit further away, and would need roughly twenty breaths to arrive.

The long-faced young man began to laugh heartily. Without any further hesitation, he powered up his cultivation base, simultaneously summoning numerous shield layers. He also slapped his bag of holding to produce a long sword.

It was a greatsword, over two meters long, with an ancient and crude appearance. The young man hefted it, and then swung it through the air, causing whistling sounds to ring out from the sharpness of the blade. Killing intent flickered in his eyes, and he smiled viciously as he shot after Naruto at top speed.

"Killing a Chosen from the Spirit Stream Sect is definitely going to be fun! Much funner than killing random rogue cultivators!" Laughing, he slashed the sword through the air, causing a beam of sword light to fly out, accompanied by a sound like rushing wind. He then performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and pointed his finger out, causing a fist-sized fireball to shoot in Naruto's direction.

Despite the falling rain, the fireball exploded with scorching heat as it shot through the air. A tremor ran through Naruto, and when he turned to look back, killing intent flickered in his eyes. He was well aware that if he didn't take out this opponent immediately, it would be impossible for him to escape.

However, in the moment that Naruto turned, the long-faced young man suddenly fell back, eyes flickering with derision. There was absolutely no way he was going to give Naruto the chance to get close to him. His only goal at the moment was simply to buy time.

Naruto's hands clenched into fists, and he began to run again. However, the long-faced young man quickly interfered, delaying him again. A few breaths of time passed, and the other two clan members were closing in. When they saw Naruto, their cultivation bases flared with power.

At the same time, the long-faced young man began to laugh. Instead of dancing around like he had been, he unleashed all the speed he could muster. Along with his two fellow clan members, he shot murderously toward Naruto.

Three cultivation bases at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation. When Madara saw the killing attack being unleashed, he felt a bit more at ease. He was quite confident that, no matter what tricks Naruto pulled, he would definitely be killed.

"What a pity," he said coolly. "He won't even have a chance to grow up." However, before he could even blink his eyes, his expression flickered.

Even as the three figures closed in on Naruto, unleashing various deadly divine abilities and magical techniques, Naruto's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. His wooden sword flew out toward the middle opponent, and he threw out a punch toward another.

A boom rang out as the wooden sword was blocked. However, the fist strike landed, sending its target tumbling back, blood spraying out of his mouth. Naruto also coughed up blood as his injuries worsened. However, before he could retreat, the long-faced youth closed in and slashed out with his long sword, sending a blast of sword light toward Naruto.

In the moment of critical danger, Naruto barely managed to twist his body to avoid a blow to the heart. The blade stabbed into him, instantly causing sweat to break out all over his body. He shivered, and at the same time, the long-faced young man began to laugh. Then, just when he was about to pull the sword back, Naruto reached out and grabbed the blade, then yanked himself forward down to the hilt.

It was a heavy price to pay, but it put him directly in front of the long-faced young man, whose scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. A sudden feeling of intense, deadly crisis washed over him. Just when he was about to drop the blade and jump backward, black light appeared on Naruto's right hand as he grabbed the young man's neck.

"You-" the young man said, eyes widening. Before he could say another word...

A cracking sound rang out!

His neck was crushed!

The sudden development occurred too quickly. In the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, the number of cultivators who were in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation was reduced from three to two. The remaining two gasped, but had little time to ponder the matter, and continued to charge toward Naruto.

Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as he flew back, slamming into a tree and simultaneously pulling the greatsword out of his chest. He quickly slashed the sword out at one of the two remaining opponents. However, his target nimbly dodged to the side, allowing his companion to close in, whereupon his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and incredible power exploded out.

A boom echoed out as Naruto was sent flying through the air, blood spraying everywhere. His clothes were now completely soaked with blood as the two Uchiha Clan cultivators bore down on him. It seemed like a no-win situation, but Naruto hadn't given in to despair yet; he desperately wanted to live. Roaring, he performed an incantation gesture, summoning a long spear, a huge axe, and two flying swords.

Using the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art, he sent the weapons slashing viciously toward his enemies.

The faces of the two Uchiha Clan cultivators fell. They quickly unleashed magical techniques, causing a boundless black fog to spring up. Booms rang out, and the magical devices Naruto had just launched clattered to the ground. At the same time, Naruto himself staggered backward, blood spilling out of his mouth.

"Time to end things!" For the third time, the two cultivators attacked. As the power of their cultivation bases erupted out, it seemed like they would strike Naruto down at any moment.

"Stay alive!" he said in a hoarse voice, a gleam of madness in his eyes. "I've got to stay alive!"

His internal spiritual energy was flickering on the verge of sputtering out completely, but he let out a roar, and all of the power he had built up in his years of cultivation, power which had seeped into his Chakra passageways and bones, exploded out like hundreds of flowing streams.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Up to this point in the fighting, Naruto had not called upon these scraps of spiritual energy, but now, in this moment of critical danger, he did. They poured into the main Chakra passageways, and in the blink of an eye, had transformed into a huge river. As it flowed through his body, a sound like pounding drums burst out within him.

At the same time, the cultivation base fluctuations of the seventh level of Chakra Condensation suddenly erupted out.

When his two opponents, who were in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, suddenly sensed those cultivation base fluctuations coming off of him, their faces flickered with shock and disbelief.

"Making a breakthrough in the middle of fighting!?"

"How... how is that even possible?!" As they reeled in shock, Naruto looked up, and his eyes were glowing brightly. The surge of spiritual power couldn't heal his wounds, but it could revive him from his state of listlessness, and give him one more chance to make it out of the situation alive.

He sprang forward toward the two Uchiha Clan cultivators, who cried out in alarm as black light covered his right hand, and the Throat Crushing Grasp was unleashed.

A cracking sound was heard as one of his opponents, unable to dodge, was pulled toward Naruto's right hand. It was almost as if some invisible force were dragging him to Naruto, who summarily crushed his neck.

His companion looked on, scalp tingling in shock. When Naruto turned to look at him, the man screamed, eyes shining with terror as he fell into retreat.

"Crown Prince, save me!" This was the sole surviving clan member in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, screaming for help.

At the moment, Madara was still ninety meters away. Seeing what was happening, he let out an enraged roar.

"Are you looking to die!?"

Naruto didn't even look at him; he instantly flashed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed out. Immediately, the fallen magical devices in the area began to tremble, and then emitted droning sounds as they apparently sensed Naruto calling to them.

Then they suddenly flew up into the air, moving far faster than they had before, speeding toward the approaching Madara to block his path.

Banging sounds rang out as Madara was forced to deal with the weapons. He was in the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, but even he couldn't instantly bypass them.

As Madara was being delayed, Naruto closed in on the remaining cultivator. Eyes flickering with killing intent, he unleashed a fist strike.

A boom echoed out, and blood sprayed from the man's mouth. He was just about to continue to fall back, but didn't notice that Naruto had just performed an incantation gesture with his left hand. A wooden sword appeared behind the man, closing in noiselessly and then stabbing through his head in a shower of blood.

The man's eyes went wide as he toppled down to the ground, where he twitched a few times, blood flowing out of his mouth. Then his eyes faded, and he was dead.

Having accomplished these things, Naruto staggered to the side. Although he had just experienced a cultivation base breakthrough, the series of deadly moves he had just unleashed had almost completely drained him. Blood oozed constantly out of his mouth as he once again lurched off into the jungle.

He knew that his final opponent was the strongest of them all, and was already able to sense that he was in the ninth level of Chakra Condensation.

"Ninth level of Chakra Condensation..." he thought bitterly. His burning desire to live caused his blood to surge through his heart. He knew that this time, either he would die, or his opponent would.

There was no third option.

As he made his retreat, Madara let out an enraged howl. He was surrounded by a blood mist, which caused the magical devices to tremble, and then begin to crack. Moments later, they exploded, and Madara shot out from within the blood mist. When he looked around at his three dead compatriots, he roared in fury, then shot after Naruto.

The two of them sped through the jungle of the nameless mountain range, heading deeper and deeper in. Thunder boomed, even though it was daytime. No lightning was visible, but the rain poured down harder and harder.

"Are you Zabuza, or A!?" Madara yelled. He quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing nine streams of blood mist to shoot toward Naruto, like nine blood-colored anacondas.

"I'm your grandpa!" Naruto retorted, despite how ashen his face was. After evading the attacks, he glanced back at the crown prince, who was getting closer by the moment. Trembling, he crouched down, then shot forward with even greater speed. Even as Madara prepared to do the same, Naruto's foot slammed into a tree, stopping him mid-flight.

Then, he twisted, borrowing the momentum of the tree as it snapped back to shoot toward Madara.

"I don't care who you are," Madara said, "today, you're gonna die!" Killing intent flickered in his eyes, and his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. Nine blood anacondas once again shot toward Naruto with gaping maws.

Naruto's eyes were bright red as he let out a howl. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture as he drew upon what remained of his spiritual energy to form a violet cauldron. The cauldron instantly spread out to surround him, completely blocking the path of the nine blood anacondas as he smashed toward Madara.

"Child's play!" Madara said with a cold laugh. Another incantation gesture transformed the nine blood anacondas into a fog, which then re-formed around him in the shape of a blood-colored skull. Then the skull shot toward the violet cauldron.

Massive booms rang out as the violet cauldron cracked and then exploded. The blood fog skull was significantly damaged, but remained in one piece.

After the collision, the collapsed cauldron revealed Naruto, who shot out of the fragmented remains toward the fog beneath him.

At the same time, Madara's eyes flickered. Then he leaped upward out of the fog, right hand flashing an incantation gesture to produce a vicious ghost face.

At the same time, he threw his head back and glared at Naruto.

Their eyes met, and then they slammed into each other, one using a fist, the other a palm. Black light flashed as the Undying Iron Skin went into action to meet the bizarre magical technique that was the ghost face.

A deafening boom rang out. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and cracking sounds rang out from within him as he was sent tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut, to slam into a nearby tree.

Madara was shaken, and his face was ashen. His Chakra and blood were churning, and shock filled him regarding how powerful Naruto was. However, he instantly shot back toward his opponent, raising his right hand, which caused all of the fog in the area to form together into a huge, blood-colored face which crushed down toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes flickered with the ferocity that comes from being pushed into a corner. He twisted in mid air, pointing toward Madara to unleash the Violet Chakra Cauldron Control Art.

He wasn't using it to control random objects, but instead, Madara's body! It was a technique Madara had never even heard of before. Suddenly, a powerful force wrapped around him, as though a gigantic hand had grabbed him.

He laughed coldly as his cultivation base erupted out, and the blood-colored face howled, causing Naruto's spiritual energy to shatter. At the same time, Madara quivered.

It was in that moment that a wooden sword shot toward him, and Naruto also charged forth, holding nothing back as he called upon the full power of his Undying Iron Skin.

"What a joke!" Madara said, flicking his sleeve. The blood-colored face passed through him, crushing toward the wooden sword. When the two met, the wooden sword trembled, but didn't break. Instead, it stabbed through the face, opening up a gap.

Naruto dove in through that very gap, relying on his Undying Iron Skin to deal with the injuries. As he shot out, Madara's eyes flickered, and he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand.

The wave of a finger caused an arc of blood-colored light to appear, a curving blade that sliced toward Naruto.

In the blink of an eye, the curving blood-colored light hit Naruto, who coughed up a mouthful of blood. And yet, his fist, backed by the full power of his cultivation base, rocketed out.

A boom rang out as Madara was shoved backward by several paces, his face draining of blood. However, Naruto wasn't done yet. As of this moment, it seemed he was completely overdrawing on his strength and even his life force... to unleash an explosive attack.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Naruto moved so incredibly fast that Madara didn't have time to react. Punches and kicks instantly turned into a maddening storm of attacks.

Madara's expression was extremely unsightly as he performed incantation gestures to summon protective shields. Rain pelted down in the jungle, and booms echoed out as he fought with Naruto.

The battle so far left Madara dumbfounded. Earlier, he had already acknowledged that this particular Outer Sect disciple of the Spirit Stream Sect was formidable, but it wasn't until actually fighting that it became clear how much he had underestimated him.

To be able to slaughter over ten of his fellow clan members, including cultivators in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, with seeming ease, indicated he had a high level of skill. That was not something that an ordinary Chakra Condensation disciple could do. The Spirit Stream Sect was one of the great sects, so it was expected that their disciples would surpass the local cultivator clans in terms of latent talent, but he had never imagined that the disparity would be like this.

"His fleshly body is too resilient. What body refinement technique does he use? Don't tell me that his power and speed are both a result of body refinement?!" Madara flicked his sleeve, sending a fog rolling out to defend against Naruto. Naruto ignored any potential injuries as he attacked again. At the same time, Madara's face grew more and more pale.

"Most terrifying are his powers of recovery! If his cultivation base were at the eighth level of Chakra Condensation... I wouldn't be a match for him at all!" Madara couldn't imagine how someone could receive so many injuries, and yet still be able to unleash such explosive power. Virtually anyone else who was on the receiving end of such punishment would have long since passed out.

Unfortunately, Naruto was like an oil lamp running out of oil, just barely holding on.

"I need to get this battle done with and kill him," Madara thought, eyes glittering coldly. "That way no other complications will arise!" However, it was at this point that Naruto's eyes also glittered, and he suddenly fell back, performing a double-handed incantation gesture; Violet Chakra Cauldron Summoning sent a huge cauldron rumbling toward Madara.

Madara's eyes narrowed as the fog which surrounded him transformed into a huge hand that shot toward the cauldron. The two collided, and the cauldron instantly collapsed, as if it hadn't been backed by even the smallest bit of power.

Madara instantly realized that he had been fooled, but he didn't seem fazed at all, and in fact his eyes glinted sharply.

"Red Devil Grand Magic!" he said coolly. Immediately, massive amounts of red light shone out, and his skin turned crimson.

Even as that happened, Naruto leaped into the air and swung his left leg toward Madara in a powerful arcing kick which kicked up a huge wind.

Madara chuckled coldly, thrusting his right forearm out to block the kick.

BOOM!

A sound like thunder rang out, accompanied by cracking sounds. Tears streamed down Naruto's face as he staggered back, heart thumping.

"How did this guy get so strong so fast?" he thought. "Red Devil Grand Magic? His skin is red, and now he's way more powerful!" Naruto was in so much pain that his heart was shaking. His left leg was twisted at an odd angle, and although his skin remained intact, the flesh underneath was mangled, and bones were broken. His breathing was ragged, and he was exhausted. Each time his injuries worsened. Naruto felt as if he couldn't go on any further. By this point he had come to the realization that his body was constantly fixing itself. The strange regenerative power ensured that even the most serious of injuries were slowly healed. He wasn't sure, but guessed that it might be an outworking of the Undying Live Forever Technique.

Madara's right arm seemed to be fine, but closer examination would reveal that it was shaking. His skin was even redder than before, and the bones inside were broken.

"You have your body refinement technique, and so does my Uchiha Clan!" Madara began to advance with speed that seemed even greater than Naruto's; it was almost like he was a different person, a person with boundless power at his disposal.

In the blink of an eye, fierce fighting was once again underway within the jungle.

Booms rang out constantly. Naruto's right leg was seriously hurt, and the bones of his left leg were broken. He could barely stand straight, and was suffering setback after setback. The sensation of imminent death grew stronger. This Madara was by far the most powerful opponent Naruto had ever fought.

Naruto eyes were bloodshot as his right hand shot out. Black light shone as the Throat Crushing Grasp was unleashed, like a bolt of black lightning that shot toward Madara's throat.

Madara's eyes shone with an intense light when he realized that this was a move he had seen before, and was prepared to face. Red light flashed around him as Naruto's right hand closed in. Madara reached out casually, grabbed Naruto's right hand, then crushed it hard. Cracking sounds rang out as Naruto's hand was completely shattered.

Madara frowned; he hadn't expected things to be this simple. But then his heart seized as he thought about the vicious tactics Naruto had already used in the fighting, and how he would even allow himself to be injured in order to unleash a devastating attack. Madara instantly pushed back, and especially tried to move his neck out of the way.

At the same time, Naruto's left hand shone with black light, shooting past Madara's neck and latching onto his shoulder.

The power of the Throat Crushing Grasp erupted, and a cracking sound rang out!

Madara's face was ashen, and sweat was pouring down his face. The bones of his left shoulder instantly shattered, and the intense pain caused him to let out a bellow of rage.

Red light shimmered around him as he unleashed massive power, grabbing Naruto's left hand. Although Naruto was inclined to pull his hand back, Madara was too fast, and in an instant, his hand locked onto Naruto's.

"Die!" he howled, eyes bloodshot as he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and then reached out to tap Naruto's forehead.

Naruto's eyes flickered with a vicious gleam as he suddenly leaned to the side, allowing the bones in his left hand to snap as his right leg shot through the air and slammed into Madara's body.

Blood sprayed out of Madara's mouth, and he was sent tumbling backward, with no choice other than to release his grip on Naruto. That in turn allowed Naruto to fall back at high speed.

Within an instant, roughly thirty meters of space opened up between the two of them. Naruto's hands were both crippled. His right arm was mangled, and although the left one was intact, his twisted fingers were incapable of unleashing the Throat Crushing Grasp.

Both of his legs were shaking. The left one was distorted into an odd shape, and blood soaked his right leg. The kick he had just unleashed had come with a terrible price.

He could barely stand up, and was in fact forced to lean back against one of the towering trees. He bit down on his tongue to force himself from lapsing into unconsciousness. He was now at his very limit. The only limb he could actually move was his left arm. Everything was numb. And yet, he still looked like he wanted to fight.

As for Madara, his eyes were bright red. His left shoulder felt like it was on fire, and he couldn't even lift his right hand. Several of his ribs were broken, and blood oozed constantly out of his mouth.

"I underestimated you!" he said hoarsely, glaring at Naruto. He could never have imagined that with a cultivation base like his own, it would be so difficult to kill the injured Naruto. From the look of it, Naruto's body refinement practices had led to some sort of undying secret magic that kept him alive despite such serious injuries.

In fact, to deal with him, Madara had used almost every magical technique at his disposal, even the Red Devil Grand Magic.

"Alright, it's time to end this fight!" Madara took a deep breath. Suddenly, all of the redness in his skin seemed to evaporate, transforming into a mist that rose up into the air. Normal color rapidly returned to Madara's skin, and he seemed to weaken dramatically. The fight had been a difficult one even for Madara; his opponent's tenacious desire to stay alive, his shocking restorative powers, and his willingness to sustain damage to inflict fatalities was completely shocking.

"Red Devil Secret Magic, Blood Saber... Attack!" Madara bit down on his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. The blood merged into the blood mist from moments ago, which then roiled and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a long, blood-colored saber!

The illusory saber was over three meters long and, shockingly, was covered with innumerable faces, all of which were emitting torturous screams. Madara waved his finger, and the blood-colored saber began to move toward Naruto!

Utilizing this secret magic caused Madara to sag again in weakness, and he was forced to reach out and support himself on a nearby tree. His face was ashen, and some of his hair had even turned white.

"Die!" he growled, giving Naruto an enraged stare.

An unprecedented sensation of crisis exploded up within Naruto as he realized that no matter what he tried to do, he would not be able to dodge or evade this blow. He was stuck.

A crevice snaked toward him on the ground, and the tree behind him withered as the long, blood-colored saber rose up high... and then slashed down toward him!

Naruto trembled, and his pupils constricted. He didn't want to die, and in fact was terrified of it. Unfortunately, the regenerative properties of his Undying Live Forever Technique weren't so heaven-defying that they could keep up with his current injuries. However, even as the blade descended, a sudden bit of inspiration flashed in his mind. Without the slightest hesitation, he waved his left hand, and a black beam of light shot out. In the blink of an eye, it grew larger, right there in front of him, forming into the shape of... a wok!

It was none other than the turtle-wok!

As soon as the wok appeared, the blood-colored blade slashed down onto it, and a deafening boom rang out. The blood-colored blade began to vibrate violently... and then shattered into countless pieces!

As for the turtle-wok, not even the slightest crack appeared on its surface, although the force of the attack transformed it into a black beam of light that shot back inside of Naruto.

"Impossible!" A tremor ran through Madara, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, an incredulous look on his face. He had already been in a weakened state when unleashing the magic, and now that it was broken, the backlash power slammed into him, instantly evaporating his spiritual power and turning his vision dim. "What... what is that thing!?"

"A turtle shell, you bastard!" Naruto growled as he stood there, clinging onto life. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and he rocked back and forth as he stood there. He stepped back, sliding down the trunk of the tree into a sitting position, and began to laugh bitterly. "Too bad I don't have any weapons..."

He could sense his life force fading away, and his vision was swimming. He thought of summoning his wooden sword, but simply didn't have the energy. Calling forth the turtle-wok had taken the last scrap of spiritual power he had. He couldn't even open his bag of holding.

"I don't care what secrets you hold, once you're dead, everything you have will belong to me." Madara said, breathing raggedly. He was also like an oil lamp on the verge of sputtering out, although he was in a slightly better position that Naruto. After a few breaths of time passed, he struggled to his feet and produced a long sword from his bag of holding, hefted it, and began to walk toward Naruto.

Naruto looked at him silently, eyes somewhat blank. He thought back to life in his village, and then he thought about Big Fatty Choji. He recalled Taruho, the Spirit Stream Sect, and the other amazing people he knew. Ryuzetsu. Amano. Amaru...

Madara slowly approached, then looked down at Naruto, who was already emanating a powerful aura of death. He could see that Naruto was riddled with wounds, and that he didn't even have enough spiritual energy to open his bag of holding.

"Remember my name. I'm the person who killed you... Madara of the Uchiha Clan." He raised the sword, which he normally could send flying out with the flick of a sleeve, but now seemed extraordinarily heavy. "It's a wonderful feeling being able to kill a Chosen."

Madara was so tired that he was on the verge of passing out, but his eyes glinted with cruelty as he stabbed the sword down toward Naruto's chest.

However, even as he did that, Naruto suddenly swung his left arm, slamming it into the ground. The bones snapped, and one of them even pierced out through his skin by about three inches.

Then he lurched to his feet, propelling his left arm with the last bit of energy he had. Even as the sword stabbed into his chest, his arm slammed into Madara's neck, and the bone... pierced directly into his throat.

Then Naruto fell to the ground and, energy completely spent, lapsed into total unconsciousness.

A tremor ran through Madara. Everything had happened too quickly, giving him no time to prepare or react, and he had been too exhausted to dodge. Once the bone stabbed into his neck, blood began to pour out onto the ground. He tried to cover the wound, but it did no good. He stared down at his own blood on the jagged bones which protruded from Naruto's arm, and couldn't help but marvel at how ridiculous the situation was. It didn't even seem possible. Eyes flickering with an unyielding gleam, he thought about all of his goals and pursuits in life, and then laughed a bitter laugh.

"That was your dying blow, huh..." He staggered back and toppled to the ground, dead, his eyes staring up into the sky.

Deep within the jungle of the nameless mountain range, the rainfall eventually began to lighten. Around evening, it stopped, and the setting sun just managed to create a little bit of a rainbow.

However, as the sun set, the rainbow gradually faded away.

The jungle was quiet. Even the stench of blood had vanished. However, the corpse-lined path stretching backward bore testament to the deadly fighting which had played out.

As Madara slipped away into death, his eyes continued to shine with an unyielding, incredulous expression.

Next to his corpse, Naruto lay still and unmoving. The flame of his life force was roughly ninety percent extinguished, with only a little spark left behind, struggling to stay alive.

Eventually, footsteps could be heard from off in the distance. Someone was walking through the muddy rainwater and fallen leaves, to eventually come to a stop next to Madara.

It was an old man wearing a long black robe. He had flowing white hair, and his face was covered with wrinkles, making him seem profoundly ancient. Apparently, he had lived for so long than an aura of death was already seeping out from him.

"Intense focus has bolstered his soul... he's dead, and yet his soul hasn't dispersed. But that won't last for long." The man's voice was raspy, but also vague and bizarre as it echoed out into the jungle. Suddenly, the forehead of Madara's corpse split open, and a green wisp of Chakra floated out. It swirled together in midair, forming into the blurry image of a soul, about the size of the palm of a hand.

This was Madara, although his eyes were blank and he was trembling, as if his mind and consciousness were gone.

The old man extended a finger, and Madara's soul flew toward him and disappeared inside.

After taking away Madara's soul, the mysterious old man looked over at Naruto, mixed emotions playing out on his face. He even seemed to be reminiscing about the past.

"I never imagined that I would once again lay eyes on... the Undying Live Forever Technique..." He closed his eyes for a moment, and then sighed. That sound seemed to transform his surroundings. Time seemed to suddenly flow differently, as if the entire area were being separated from the rest of the world.

The innumerable plants in the area suddenly went still, as if in death, and then transformed into ash.

Madara's corpse instantly withered up, and within the space of a few breaths of time, was nothing more than a skeleton. Even that turned into dust, which crumbled down into the muddy ground.

Only Naruto wasn't affected. In fact, vast amounts of life force poured into him, rapidly healing his various injuries.

The old man stood there with his eyes closed, as motionless as a statue. It almost looked... as if he possessed no aura whatsoever, nor any life force. It was like he didn't exist at all within the world, a discarnate soul who refused to be reborn.

Meanwhile, in the same moment that Madara died, Patriarch Indra was back in the Uchiha Clan in the Fallenstar Mountains. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and an uneasy feeling filled his heart. He looked around at the clan members around him, and could see that quite a few of the eleven cultivators sent out of the clan had been killed. However, when he saw that Madara's soul still existed, he felt slightly better.

"They're only three Outer Sect disciples, how could they have lasted so long...?" he muttered. "So many clan members have been killed. Well, considering the level of Heng'er's cultivation base, there's no way they could kill him. Most likely, he's already wiped them out and is on his way back." The uneasy feeling still lurked there inside of him, though. Eyes flickering, he sent a few more clan members out to investigate, all of whom were in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation.

Having done that, he took a deep breath.

"It doesn't matter now. The Inverse Blood Grand Magic only needs one more day of work!" Gritting his teeth, he suppressed the uneasiness he felt. He knew that there was no backing out of the plan now, and really no other option than to hold on for another day... then everything would be worth it!

In that same moment, Amano was in a valley a bit more than five kilometers away from the border of Patriarch Indra's security spell formation. His face was ashen, and he had reached the point where he couldn't take another step further. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he collapsed to the ground, chuckling bitterly.

"Junior Brother Naruto... I'm sorry, I can't save you..." He clenched his hands in anguish and helplessness before passing into unconsciousness.

In another direction was Ryuzetsu, her hair disheveled, her skin sallow. Her Chakra passageways were almost completely destroyed, and she cut a completely different picture than she had in the past, in her peak of beauty.

Her eyes were lustreless, and she looked almost like the walking dead. However, a shocking level of willpower kept her staggering forward, clutching a jade slip in her hand. There was only one thought in her head, a thought that wouldn't leave.

She had to break free and send word to the sect. She had to... save Naruto.

She proceeded along, one step after another. When she fell to the ground, she would crawl back to her feet. Her clothing was torn, her veins were bleeding dry, and she could barely see clearly. And yet... she kept moving forward.

Time passed. Ryuzetsu had long since forgotten about the injured state of her body. She wasn't thinking about her own life, nor could she even remember how long she had been walking. She proceeded along until suddenly she experienced a sensation like passing through a sheet of water. In that moment, her eyes began to shine brightly.

"Am I out...?" she murmured through parched, cracked lips. Trembling, she looked at the jade slip clutched in her hands, the jade slip which hadn't so much as vibrated once during the past half month. But now, it vibrated, as though an invisible connection had suddenly been established... linking her to the sect.

"The Uchiha Clan has turned traitor. Elder Brother Waraji died in battle. I'm not sure if Elder Brother Amano is still alive, and Junior Brother Naruto... drew the enemy away so that we could escape. I am disciple Ryuzetsu, and I beg of the sect... to send backup immediately." As soon as she finished sending the message, Ryuzetsu sagged down into a sitting position. Then she turned to look behind her, tears streaming down her face.

She would never forget how Naruto had returned to fight, as if he had veins of steel. She would never forget the tragic and moving image of him running out to draw the attention of the Uchiha Clan. She would never forget everything that had happened on their journey together.

"Junior Brother Naruto, Elder Brother Amano... you have to stay alive..." Ryuzetsu wept, her tears falling to the ground in front of her. Eventually, she couldn't hold on any longer, and collapsed into unconsciousness.

As Ryuzetsu was transmitting her message, the Missions Office back on the Fragrant Cloud Peak in the Spirit Stream Sect was as busy as ever. Outer Sect disciples were running back and forth handling various tasks, and deep within the Missions Office itself, there was a middle-aged man in a Daoist robe who was in the middle of maintaining the records about various missions. Arrayed in front of him was a collection of thousands of jade slips, which contained the information of all sect disciples with open missions.

Suddenly, one of the jade slips flickered with light. Expression the same as ever, the middle-aged man waved his hand, causing the jade slip to fly over into his hand. After scanning it with divine sense, his eyes went wide, and he shot to his feet.

"The Uchiha Clan has turned traitor!" he cried, panting. The enormity of such a matter could not be understated. Whether or not it was true or false, he absolutely had to report the matter to his superiors. Holding back such information was a crime punishable by execution, so he didn't dare to dally. He immediately produced a violet jade slip from his robe and transmitted the new intelligence.

The report was instantly sent to the Hall of Justice. Of course, Zori worked in the Hall of Justice, but he had a very lowly position, and an intelligence report like this was something he didn't even qualify to look at. Almost as soon as the report arrived at the Hall of Justice, the entire organization sprang into immediate action. After all, the Hall of Justice was tasked with defending the entire Spirit Stream Sect, and the efficiency with which they went about it was shocking.

It only took the time it takes an incense stick to burn to verify the authenticity of the report.

Then, war drums began to sound through the entire south bank. All of the disciples looked around in shock. The Outer Sect disciples didn't know the significance of the war drums, but the Inner Sect disciples on the three mountain peaks all knew, and it caused their expressions to flicker as they looked up from whatever they were doing.

"What happened?"

"When the war drums beat, we can't return to the Spirit Stream Sect until blood is shed and the enemy clan is exterminated! Heavens..."

Even as everyone was reeling in shock, the voice of an old man suddenly filled the entire south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect.

"I am Yamato of the Hall of Justice. All Inner Sect disciples of the south bank's three mountain peaks are to immediately cancel all previous missions, activities, and secluded meditation sessions. You have twenty breaths of time to gather at the main gate! Tardiness will not be tolerated!"

Even as the words left his mouth, the Inner Sect disciples on Green Crest Peak, Fragrant Cloud Peak, and Violet Cauldron Peak immediately dropped whatever tasks they had at hand. Trembling, but without the slightest hesitation, they sprang into motion.

Even people involved in important tasks didn't dare to tarry for even a moment. Everyone knew that Yamato was an elder from the Hall of Justice, and that he was... cold-hearted and merciless!

He had a Daoist name in addition to his given name; he was known as Daoist Jackal. For him to take the lead in a sect affair meant that something completely infuriating had occurred. It meant... that people needed to die. It meant... that a clan needed to be exterminated!

Rumbling sounds filled the air as countless figures appeared, speeding toward the main gate. Soon it became clear that among the three mountains of the south bank, there were at least two thousand Inner Sect disciples. Normally, it was a difficult thing to catch sight of one or two, so the sight of so many left the Outer Sect disciples completely shaken.

There were also several hundred disciples from the Hall of Justice, clad in black robes and led by an old man with bright red hair. That old man radiated intense killing intent, and he was none other than Yamato.

Soon, over two thousand people were gathered around the main gate, all of whom wore grim and somber expressions.

"The Uchiha Clan has turned traitor. The sect leader has ordered that their clan... be exterminated all the way down to the chickens and dogs. Activate the Daoseed Teleportation Portal!" Yamato waved his sleeve, instantly causing a huge pillar of light to rise up from Mount Daoseed, in the middle of the Spirit Stream Sect.

The light climbed up into the air, transforming into a huge teleportation portal, which instantly enveloped the two thousand disciples. Rumbling could be heard as the teleportation process began.

The Outer Sect disciples of the south bank gasped, and suddenly, they were filled with sensations of deep pride regarding their sect.

Compared to the Spirit Stream Sect, the Uchiha Clan was small, with only one Foundation Establishment cultivator. And yet, for the sake of a few Outer Sect disciples, the Spirit Stream Sect had mobilized two thousand individuals. Then there was the violent and powerful Yamato. All of that... was a mighty threat!

It was a threat to all of the cultivator clans in the territory controlled by the Spirit Stream Sect. The old saying asks, "Why use a battle-axe to kill a chicken?" In this situation, the Spirit Stream Sect provided the answer: "How else do you kill chickens than with battle-axes?!"

This was a sect that wouldn't hold back any resources, not even when it came to Outer Sect disciples. That in turn caused the Outer Sect disciples' loyalty toward their sect to reach new heights.

The Spirit Stream Sect had stood strong for ten thousand years, growing from a tiny little organization to its current height. Naturally, there were aspects to it that others would find astonishing!

It was in this moment that, all of a sudden, there on the temple at the very top of Fragrant Cloud Peak, Taruho flew out, face grim, aura murderous. That aura swept out explosively, creating a wild tempest as he shot toward the teleportation portal.

It only took Taruho a moment to reach the teleportation portal, where he hovered like an unsheathed blade, radiating an intense murderous aura.

Yamato looked over at him, and his pupils constricted slightly. Among the three peak lords on the south bank, Yamato viewed Taruho as the most important. In fact, he was actually one of the most important people in the entire Spirit Stream Sect.

Not only was he a master apothecary, his profound natural talents were extremely rare. For example, he had only practiced cultivation for about a hundred years, but had already reached late Foundation Establishment. In fact, it was even said that, within the entire sect, he was the most likely candidate to break through from Foundation Establishment and acquire a Gold Core.

"I heard that one of those four Outer Sect disciples is connected to Taruho somehow..." Yamato thought. At the same time, rumbling could be heard from the spell formation, and countless dazzling beams of light rose up. Instantly, the group of two thousand cultivators, including Taruho, became blurry, and then disappeared altogether.

The journey which had taken Naruto and the others several months to complete, occurred in only a few seconds, thanks to the activation of the Spirit Stream Sect's teleportation portal.

Rumbling like thunder filled the air over Ryuzetsu's unconscious form. The sky dimmed as something like an invisible hand ripped open a huge rift, revealing the image of an enormous spell formation.

It descended rapidly to the ground, causing everything to quake in a fifty kilometer area. Blazing, fiery lines appeared in the ground as the shape and design of the spell formation appeared on the surface of the land.

Within that 50 kilometer area, all grass, rocks, mountains, everything turned into ash, vanishing in an instant. This spell formation was incredibly domineering, and destroyed everything that got in its way.

Ryuzetsu was in that area, and immediately fell under the protection of the spell formation, ensuring she wasn't harmed at all. Even as the land shook, numerous figures came into view.

It took only a moment for the more than two thousand Inner Sect disciples from the south bank to appear. There was still enough teleportation power swirling around them for another teleportation to be carried out, but first, Yamato and Taruho strode forward to the unconscious Ryuzetsu. Several female disciples reached her ahead of them, covering her with a set of spare garments and also administering some medicinal pills. With the influx of spiritual energy, Ryuzetsu gradually opened her eyes. Her expression was blank, but when she saw all of the forces from the sect surrounding her, she began to weep, and a feeling of excitement flooded through her.

Furthermore, considering she was an Outer Sect disciple of Fragrant Cloud Peak, when she noticed Peak Lord Taruho Taruho standing there, even more tears welled up in her eyes. At the same time, disciples on either side of her helped her to rise to a sitting position.

"Peak Lord, please rescue Junior Brother Naruto..." she implored, face ashen.

"What happened to him?!" Taruho said, stepping forward to stand directly in front of Ryuzetsu. His eyes burned with fury and deep anxiety.

"Junior Brother Naruto... went out on his own to draw the Uchiha Clan cultivators away, so that Elder Brother Amano and I could escape. They started chasing after him..." Weeping, she went on to explain the entire situation.

Few of the surrounding two thousand disciples knew Naruto, but as they listened to Ryuzetsu's tale, they were visibly moved. The intense and tragic events even caused them to gasp.

They learned about how Waraji fell in battle to protect his fellow disciples, and how Amano and Ryuzetsu risked almost certain death to try to escape. They heard about how the Uchiha Clan sent out two waves of cultivators in pursuit, including several in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, and one in the ninth...

Even these members of the Inner Sect would be hard pressed to make it out alive under such circumstances.

When Ryuzetsu talked about Naruto, they could sense how devoted and loyal he was. In fact, he was already the type of person who could be considered a Chosen.

He had the option of fleeing on his own, but instead returned to save his fellow disciples. He fought enemies far more powerful than himself, then helped carry his two wounded companions for more than half a month, on a journey of nearly 5,000 kilometers.

In the end, he chose to sacrifice himself rather than his principles, all to give his fellow disciples a chance to make it out alive. The result was that Ryuzetsu was able to send her message. Were it not for that, the sect might not have learned about the traitorous actions of the Uchiha Clan until it was too late.

It didn't take long before Naruto's name had taken root deep within the hearts of the Inner Sect disciples. To them, he was profoundly devoted and loyal, an elegant and even heroic man, someone with veins of steel.

The people from the Hall of Justice were completely shaken. Among their number was Zori, whose jaw dropped as he heard Ryuzetsu's story. He almost couldn't believe that the Naruto she was talking about was the same person in his mind. His impulsive plotting earlier had left him nervous about possible investigations on the part of the sect. Although he hadn't been absolutely sure that Naruto was the little turtle, in his pettiness, he would rather kill the wrong person accidentally than risk the right person getting away. As of this moment, he breathed a sigh of relief. With Waraji being dead, there was no way word would get out.

Even the iron-hearted Yamato, Daoist Jackal, couldn't help but sigh in response to the tale, and a gleam of admiration appeared in his eyes. Considering the level of his cultivation base, he could tell at a glance that Ryuzetsu wasn't making the story up; everything she had said, although perhaps not completely accurate, was the truth.

"The Spirit Stream Sect cannot permit a disciple such as that to perish in this place!" Yamato flicked his sleeve and immediately sent several hundred disciples out to search for Amano and Naruto.

Taruho slowly looked off into the distance, eyes completely bloodshot, heart aching bitterly. Considering what Naruto had done here, Taruho suddenly felt as if he had judged him incorrectly. At the same time, he knew that, considering the circumstances, Naruto chances of getting out alive... were small, to say the least.

"And I was the one who brought you to this sect..." he thought. His murderous aura exploded out with even more intensity. Taking a step forward, he drew upon some of the remaining teleportation power to suddenly vanish in the direction of the Uchiha Clan.

Yamato sighed. After hearing Ryuzetsu's tale, he knew that the situation did not bode well for Naruto. Flickering into motion, he gathered the remaining forces and began another teleportation.

Rumbling echoed out in all directions as Taruho and Yamato led nearly two thousand disciples to appear in midair above the Uchiha Clan mansion in the Fallenstar Mountains.

The cloud layers were ripped apart as the teleportation portal became a powerful attack bearing down with intense energy of heaven and earth. Cries of alarm rang out within the mansion as the spell formation descended upon it.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The spell formation landed, instantly shattering the limestone flooring, transforming it into ash. The mansion itself collapsed into rubble.

Roars of rage echoed out as numerous figures flew out, expressions of fury and hopelessness on their faces.

The guardian stone lions and the fruit trees from the courtyard transformed into puppets that instantly went on the offensive. Taruho was the first person to make a move. He waved his sleeve, causing the lions to explode loudly. As for the fruit trees, they trembled, and the fruit began to fall off their branches. However, even as the fruits fled, they were destroyed.

Rumbling echoed out as the Spirit Stream Sect disciples unleashed mass destruction.

Taruho shot toward the center of the destroyed Uchiha Clan mansion. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he waved his finger, summoning a green fireball. His hair flew wildly about him as he then sent the fireball blasting down into the ground.

Flames erupted, smashing into the rubble of the mansion and sweeping it away. The handful of enemy cultivators who had been attacking let out miserable shrieks as they were instantly incinerated.

Next, Taruho lifted his right foot into the air and stamped it down hard. The land shattered, and a huge crevice was ripped open, revealing the necropolis down below.

At almost exactly the same time, a vortex of blood spiraled out, followed by the Uchiha Clan's patriarch.

When the man saw Taruho, his face filled with an expression of despair. The Spirit Stream Sect had arrived too suddenly. The spell formation he was working on was on the cusp of being completed, and had anyone else arrived, he might have been able to delay them for long enough. But unexpectedly, the people who came were none other than Taruho and Yamato!

The patriarch fell back, crying out miserably, "Flee! Anyone who can escape, get out of here!"

Trembling, the Uchiha Clan cultivators in the necropolis scattered in all directions. However, Yamato's face was expressionless as he waved his hand, sending the Inner Sect disciples after them in pursuit.

Taruho's eyes locked onto Patriarch Indra, and the lake of blood that surrounded him. Yamato did the same, and then, flames of rage appeared in both mens' eyes.

"You slaughtered innocent mortals?" Taruho growled. "The heavens cannot tolerate the existence of a clan like yours!" With that, he waved his sleeve, sending a destructive sea of flames out.

At the same time, bloodcurdling screams began to rise up as the Spirit Stream Sect disciples began to slaughter and crush the Uchiha Clan cultivators.

Two thousand people versus a few hundred.

Patriarch Indra could only watch as everyone in his clan was killed, both descendants from his own bloodline, and members of other bloodlines. Screaming miserably, he fled at top speed in an attempt to escape.

However, in that instant, he was overwhelmed by Taruho's sea of flames. Face extremely grim, Taruho clenched his hand into a fist.

RUMBLE!

Patriarch Indra's screams intensified as he erupted into flames. His flesh and blood were incinerated, and in the blink of an eye, he was reduced to nothing more than ash. Taruho... killed him with one attack!

When the surrounding Inner Sect disciples saw that, they gasped in shock. Even Yamato's eyes went wide in astonishment.

As Taruho hovered there in midair, he waved his hand again, sending the sea of flames exploding out again. The entire Uchiha Clan was engulfed, and everything began to burn. Taruho looked off into the distance, his expression somewhat disconsolate.

Sighing, he said, "Naruto, I, Taruho... have let down your Uzumaki Clan." In his bitterness, he flew off into the distance. He wasn't willing to entrust the search for Naruto to others. If there was even the slightest hope that he was alive, he himself would search for him.

Taruho left, flames rising high into the sky behind him. As for the Inner Sect disciples, expressions of excitement began to appear on their faces. Now more than ever, they realized how powerful and glorious their sect was.

As Yamato watched Taruho leaving, his voice rang out to the surrounding disciples. "Split up and do everything you can to locate Naruto. Whoever finds him will receive a reward of merit points from me personally. If you encounter any surviving Uchiha Clan cultivators, kill them!"

Two thousand cultivators spent an entire month searching the 5,000 kilometer area.

They searched virtually every possible location, but no one ever found Naruto. However, they did discover the corpses of the Uchiha Clan cultivators he had killed. As corpses turned up one after another, the Inner Sect disciples grew more and more shocked.

Virtually all of the Uchiha Clan cultivators had been killed with a single blow. The Inner Sect disciples could scarcely imagine how an Outer Sect disciple in the sixth level of Chakra Condensation could possibly have done something like that.

Zori gasped over and over again, and suddenly realized it would actually be much better for him if Naruto was dead. He himself was probably not a match for someone so violent and powerful. Taruho's fury caused him to grow more nervous, and he even began to wail inwardly.

"Dammit!" he thought. "Why didn't you tell me you had such connections? If you had, I would never have provoked you!"

Eventually they found the corpses of the three disciples who were in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation, and they could only imagine what that bitter, intense battle must have been like. It left them reeling.

Soon everyone came to the conclusion that Naruto... had most likely been killed in that nameless mountain range. That was a place rife with perilous beasts, and numerous other dangers that could kill a person and leave no corpse behind.

Eventually, they captured the two Uchiha Clan disciples that Madara had dispatched after Amano and Ryuzetsu. When they learned that one of the people chasing Naruto had been none other than the Uchiha Clan's crown prince, who was in the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, they all resigned themselves to the fact... that Naruto really must be dead.

After the month of searching ended, everyone returned to the sect. Amano had been found relatively early on, seriously injured, but alive. With the full power of the sect focused on healing him, he ended up being just fine.

Both he and Ryuzetsu had performed significant meritorious service for the sect, but that left them with no feeling of excitement. Instead, they felt sadness, and couldn't stop thinking about the events which had occurred.

Both of them wanted to go back to join the search efforts when they were underway, but their injuries were too serious. The only person who refused to give up on searching for Naruto was Taruho. He journeyed alone into the nameless mountain range, where he searched for two full months. Other than a few places that even he couldn't enter, he searched the length and breadth of the mountains. Strangely, even though it seemed clear that Naruto had to be in these very mountains, he couldn't find a single trace of him. It was almost as if Naruto were currently in some other world.

During the process of the search, he ended up fighting quite a few powerful beasts, and was even injured by some of them. Two months later, it was with great bitterness that he stood in front of a certain tree with a blood-stained scrap of cloth stuck to it.

"If I hadn't brought you to the sect..." Taruho thought. When he closed his eyes, he recalled the image of Naruto there on Mount Hood, looking scared to death of the lightning and thunder. He thought about how frightened he had looked at 10,000 Snakes Valley, about what had happened during the sect competition, and about how he had taken first place in all the stone steles.

He sighed silently, seemingly growing older as he reached out and picked up the bloodstained cloth. He had already picked up seven or eight similar pieces of cloth just like this during his search.

In the end, he left the jungle, transforming into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Thus ended the rebellion of the Uchiha Clan. The Spirit Stream Sect struck like lightning, completely wiping out the traitors. The matter caused quite a stir in the Eastwood Lower Reaches of the Heavenspan River. In the cultivation world of the Eastwood Continent, which was one of the four great continents, countless cultivator clans and sects learned of the matter. As a result, the awe felt toward the Spirit Stream Sect grew, a sect that was one of the Four Great Sects in the Eastwood Lower Reaches.

After an investigation by the Spirit Stream Sect, they found some clues as to why the Uchiha Clan had turned traitor. The bloodline seal was one reason, but there was an even more profound motivation. After piecing together various clues, the vast ramifications left the Spirit Stream Sect shocked.

If they hadn't stopped the matter when they did, the resulting chain reaction would have led to numerous other cultivator clans hearing about the matter and then following along in the rebellion. It would have been almost the same as a powerful enemy invading Spirit Stream Sect territory, and would have led to grave repercussions, potentially even the destabilization of the sect.

The news about the deeds accomplished by Ryuzetsu and Amano quickly spread, as did the stories of Naruto nobly sacrificing himself.

The fact that he had refused to abandon his fellow disciples, and had even used himself as bait to lead the enemy away, left many people moved. The cultivation world was full of selfish people; individuals like Naruto were not common. The loss of such a disciple left many people, even the Sect Leader and Elders, feeling very aggrieved.

There were other implications that came along with the whole event. However, as more clues came to light, the Spirit Stream Sect only grew more silent. For some unknown reason, they eventually stopped investigating. However, all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect increased their level of vigilance to a point far beyond normal.

Apparently... a storm was coming.

The south and north banks together had seven peak lords. In addition to that were the sect leader and other elders. After much discussion and research, they came to a unanimous decision.

Ryuzetsu, Amano, as well as the perished Waraji, had all performed meritorious service. As for Naruto... he had accomplished a tremendous service beyond the ordinary!

The final decision was explained by Sect Leader Hiruzen. "A storm is coming. The most important thing... is to lift everyone's spirits. For ten thousand years, the morale of our sect has remained high. Considering the tremendous service Naruto has performed, at the cost of his very life, we can only repay his kindness by having a grand funeral. Those who contribute to the sect shall never be forgotten."

In the following days, although the Spirit Stream Sect didn't investigate any further into the reasons for the betrayal of the Uchiha Clan, they took every opportunity to spread the story of how Naruto had sacrificed himself for his fellow disciples, and how he had nobly fought for the sect.

As the story was propagated, more and more disciples from the various mountain peaks on both the south and north banks learned of the name Naruto, and what he had done to save his fellow disciples.

Of course, the sect itself wasn't ambivalent to such a devoted and loyal disciple. Taruho had eradicated an entire clan, and two thousand Inner Sect disciples had been mobilized. Sending such a powerful force to handle the situation was truly like killing a chicken with a battle-axe.

Not only did all the disciples in the sect remember Naruto's name, they were moved by how the sect reacted to the situation. Even though the sect had obviously reacted in such a way intentionally... that reaction was exactly what the disciples expected.

For ten thousand years, that was the unchanging tradition of the Spirit Stream Sect.

Touch one of our disciples, and you will die, no matter how far you run!

When a Spirit Stream Sect disciple went outside of the sect, they were never alone: they were backed by the entire Spirit Stream Sect. The sect was like a shield, eternally there for their protection.

Because of that, the disciples were devoted to their sect, and would expend any and all effort, even give up their lives, to defend it, their home.

That was the mighty Spirit Stream Sect, which had started out ten thousand years ago as a tiny sect with only a few dozen people in it.

In order to determine whether or not Naruto was really dead, the Sect Leader asked for help from one of the sect's prime elders, who was adept at divining information from the heavens. Unfortunately, his divination magic did not reveal any hint that Naruto was still alive in the world. The only thing he discovered was an aura of death, which seemed to prove that Naruto... had died in battle, fighting for the sect.

On a rainy morning a few days later, the mournful tolling of bells could be heard throughout the Spirit Stream Sect. Countless disciples wearing black robes emerged silently from their residences, expressions grief on their faces as they gathered midway up Fragrant Cloud Peak.

There, a gravestone had been erected, with a portrait of Naruto on it, smiling happily.

Big Fatty Choji stood there in the crowd. He glanced at everyone around him, and then looked at the gravestone, and Naruto's name. As the rain fell and soaked his clothing, he wept, recalling all of his memories of the past. He thought about how they had eaten the various pilfered spirit treasures, about how they had laughed and joked together, about how they had sold spots in the Outer Sect, and about stealing chickens...

"Ninth Fatty..." Big Fatty Choji murmured, looking very sad. His heart felt empty, and the pain made the entire world seem dark.

The other fatties from the Ovens, Naruto's Elder Brothers, were all filled with grief, and couldn't stop crying, including Third Fatty Kuro.

Sora, Tokuma, Iwashi and Elders Hayate and Obito, as well as everyone else Naruto had come to know since joining the sect, all stood in the crowd, faces filled with grief.

Kurenai came and stared silently at the gravestone. After hearing the story of what Naruto had done, she couldn't help but think of how zealously he had searched for the chicken thief.

Amano came, propped up on the shoulder of Amaru. He stood there, fists clenched, shaking in grief.

"Junior Brother Naruto..." A bitter smile twisted his face. After returning to the sect, he began spending his days drinking. He just couldn't forget that moment in which Naruto had led all the enemies away, using himself as bait.

More and more people showed up, until the middle section of Fragrant Cloud Peak was densely packed with countless disciples, all silently looking at the gravestone.

At the front of the crowd was Ryuzetsu. Her face was pale, and it was impossible to tell the difference between the tears that streaked down her cheeks, and the rainwater. She seemed to be in a daze, and while her face was as beautiful as it had always been, that beauty was now sad and poignant.

"You could have stayed alive... but here I am, and you're gone..." Ryuzetsu's days had been spent in sorrow and misery recently. She had lost weight, and often dreamed about that moment in which Naruto had returned, unshakeable and determined. And then he had left, a scene which left her weeping and wracked with pain.

As the mourning bells tolled, echoing about in all directions, beams of light shot toward the gravestone from all directions. Within them were the seven peak lords, all of the Spirit Stream Sect elders, and even the sect leader. They wore black robes, and as they gathered near the gravestone, their expressions were those of sorrow.

As for Taruho, bitterness and self-reproach filled his heart.

A moment later, the sect leader began to speak, his voice calm and slow.

"Naruto was an Outer Sect disciple of Fragrant Cloud Peak in the Spirit Stream Sect. He was a blazing sun in the Dao of medicine, a Chosen among disciples. In his battle against the Uchiha Clan, he killed numerous Uchiha traitors, and sacrificed himself to save his fellow disciples. He was loyal to his sect, and gave his life in the most tremendous display of meritorious service. Disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect will remember his name for all eternity!"

His voice was filled with grief, and as his voice echoed out, Ryuzetsu's tears flowed even harder. Amano, Big Fatty Choji, and countless other people were all weeping.

"On this day, I confer upon Naruto the title of the Spirit Stream Sect Prestige disciple!" In response to the Sect Leader's words, countless disciples were shaken. To hear the term Prestige disciple left everyone moved.

That position was a matchless honor within the Spirit Stream Sect, and there could only be one Prestige disciple within the sect within any generation. It was a position higher than the Inner Sect, and on equal standing with the Legacy Echelon. The status of Prestige disciple was given to the dead, whereas the Legacy Echelon was for the most powerful among the living.

Throughout the ten-thousand-year history of the Spirit Stream Sect, there had only ever been nine disciples with such a title, each and every one of whom had been conferred with it after dying in battle for the sect. As of this moment, there were now ten such disciples in the history of the sect.

Not a single person present felt the honor was inappropriate. Naruto had earned it with his life.

"From the time he joined the sect until he sacrificed his life," continued the sect leader, "Naruto never had a Master. Having given his life for the sect, I refuse to allow him to wander alone in the underworld. Therefore, I shall represent my dead teacher, Daoist Master Spiritsieve, to accept Naruto as his apprentice. Henceforth, he can continue to pursue the great Dao in the underworld." In response to the sect leader's words, Taruho nodded, pain flickering in his eyes as he looked at the gravestone.

"And now everyone... shall observe a moment of silence!" With that, the sect leader closed his eyes and bowed his head, as did all of the other disciples present.

After a few breaths of time passed, the moment of silence ended. Ryuzetsu couldn't hold her feelings in any longer, and began to wail.

In the same moment that everyone was observing the moment of silence, back in the nameless mountain range, Naruto slowly opened his eyes and sneezed.


	16. Chapter 16

The moment of the sneeze was the same moment that Naruto woke up. His mind was still in the same state it had been when he was seriously injured and fallen into a coma, so as soon as he woke up, he subconsciously cradled his left arm and let out a miserable cry. However, as soon as that cry left his lips, he looked down in surprise at his arm, and then at the rest of his body. He began to poke and prod himself, and even opened his garments and looked at his soft, white belly.

"Eee? No injuries?" Suddenly, his eyes flickered with fear as he recalled something that the old folks back in the village used to say. Supposedly, when someone died, their soul would enter the shadows of the underworld. At the moment, he obviously had no injuries, which meant that he must only be a soul... Shivering, he looked around and realized that everything around him was dead. Even all the plants and grass were withered up. Madara's corpse was nowhere to be seen.

As he looked around, he also noticed fog everywhere. He couldn't see much at all, and everything past a certain distance was a complete blur. A faint aura of death pulsed in the area, causing a cold sensation to wash through his body.

"That's it. It's over... I was so careful for most of my poor little life, only to end up losing it..." Naruto was now even more certain that he was now a lost soul. His face twisted bitterly, and he let out an anguished moan.

"I never even got to give Ryuzetsu a chance to pay me back with all her heart... Elder Brother Amano still has his promise to keep... People still don't know that I'm Lord Turtle, and there are still lots of spirit tail chickens to eat in the world. I... I haven't lived forever yet..." The more he thought about it, the more it hurt inside. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

However, even as he began to wail loudly... someone cleared their throat behind him.

The sound came so suddenly that it startled Naruto.

"Who's there?!" he shrieked, scrambling forward across the ground and then spinning around, a wooden sword appearing in his hand.

He saw an old man standing over by where he had just been laying. He wore a long black robe and looked almost like a corpse as he stared at Naruto in a very ghastly manner.

His body radiated a strong aura of death. Coupled with the copious amounts of wrinkles which covered his pale face, he seemed like he had just climbed up out of the grave. He perfectly matched his surroundings, and looked utterly horrifying.

As soon as Naruto laid eyes on him, all the hair on his body stood on end, and he suddenly recalled countless scary stories about murderous ghosts. But then he realized that if he himself was dead, then he didn't have anything to worry about. Sticking his jaw out, he gave a cold harrumph and then slowly rose to his feet.

"Alright then. You're a ghost. I'm a ghost. Since we're both dead and both ghosts, then who's afraid of who, huh?" He walked up to the old man, then circled around him with a low-pitched, quizzical whistle.

"You must be a ghost who lives in these nameless mountains. No need to be nervous. I was just passing through and happened to die. I'll be on my way in a moment. Ai. I wonder if I can continue to live forever and practice cultivation now that I've become a ghost. Maybe I can become a ghost that lives forever." Suddenly, grief rose up once again in Naruto's heart, and he sighed.

The black-robed old man looked at Naruto and frowned. Then, he spoke in a raspy voice: "How come you're not dead?"

Naruto started in surprise, then suddenly seemed to think of something. He bit down hard on his tongue, and when the pain coursed through him, he almost couldn't believe it. He bit down again, this time until tears poured down his cheeks. His expression lit with delight, and he literally began dancing up and down. He even threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"I'm not dead! Hahaha! I, Naruto, have a matchless cultivation base! I am invincible in heaven and earth. How could I possibly die!?" He was so excited that he reached out to grab the old man's arm, except that his hand passed right through the man, and grabbed nothing but air. At the same time, his hand suddenly felt extremely cold.

"Uh..." Naruto suddenly went stiff all over. He stared blankly at the old man, eyes wide, before screaming and leaping backward. "A ghost!"

Back when he thought he was dead, he didn't think much of seeing a ghost. But at the moment, he was terrified, as the stories of murderous ghosts once again began to flash through his mind.

Soon, he reached the area where the fog grew thick, where he encountered some sort of invisible barrier that he could not pass through. Backing up to the barrier, he gripped his little wooden sword and stared at the old man, countless thoughts fluttering through his mind. Finally, a miserable expression filled his face.

"Sir, do you have some unfinished business in life that I could help you take care of...?"

The black-robed old man had a strange expression on his face as he studied Naruto. He couldn't help but muse that the young man standing in front of him seemed a lot different from the steel-veined fighter from before. They almost seemed like two different people. Eventually, a thoughtful expression appeared in his eyes.

"Perhaps only people with personalities like this can truly cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique..." he murmured. Feeling much more at ease, he shook his head and smiled. Then he turned and began to float off into the distance.

"The Undying Live Forever Technique is divided into the Undying Codex and the Live Forever Codex. Each Codex has five volumes... what you are cultivating is the most commonly circulated first volume of the Undying Codex, the Undying Skin. You've mastered the Iron Skin, and have made headway with the Bronze Skin!" As the old man floated off, his voice echoed behind him into Naruto's ears.

"The Undying Codex breaks through the five shackles of mortality. The Live Forever Codex unravels the five seals of eternity!

"Work hard at your cultivation. If you can reach the level of Undying Gold Skin, you will make contact with the first shackle of mortality. Whether or not you can break through that shackle will depend on your own good fortune.

"Since we were brought together by fate, I will give you a medicinal pill. Furthermore, to help you make a breakthrough with your Undying Skin, and achieve mastery of the Bronze Skin, I will give you this jade slip. It contains... the second volume of the Undying Codex, the Undying Heavenly King!

"If you succeed with the Undying Live Forever Technique, you can... form a Core!" By this point, the old man was so far away he couldn't be seen. However, as his voice echoed out, two beams of light shot through the air and came to hover in front of Naruto.

Naruto watched in shock as the old man left. At this point, he realized that the reason he hadn't died, and had in fact completely recovered, was because the old man had saved him.

And the reason for that... was because Naruto cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique.

Although Naruto feared death, he took matters of favors and debts seriously. He knew that he had been injured so badly in the fight that he most likely should have died. A tremor ran through him, and, taking a deep breath, he clasped hands and bowed deeply in the direction the old man had disappeared.

"Senior," he called out, "many thanks for the kindness you showed in saving my life. May I respectfully ask your name...?"

"I am... the gravekeeper," the old man replied, his voice faint and ancient, almost as if it were floating through countless years of time.

It was in that exact same moment that cracking sounds could be heard from the fog as it suddenly vanished. The area which had been separated from the rest of the world was now unsealed, and returned to its place. The wind blew, lifting Naruto's long hair as he looked off into the distance.

After a moment passed, he murmured, "The Undying Live Forever Technique... Five shackles of mortality and five seals of eternity?" This was his first time hearing of such things.

Finally, he took a deep breath and looked over at the medicinal pill and jade slip. He first took the jade slip, scanning it with divine sense. Inside was the second volume of the Undying Codex.

He put the jade slip away and then looked over at the medicinal pill. Although he was already a journeyman apothecary, he was unable to determine the pill's quality. He took it in hand and began to examine it. He was a cautious person by nature, and he knew that if the old man in the black robe had wished to harm him, he could have done so in a variety of ways. As such, the medicinal pill would most likely bring only benefits, and would not harm him.

Muttering to himself, he looked around, then put the medicinal pill away and began to walk. As he proceeded along, he looked around at the jungle, and sighed emotionally. When he thought about the whole chase and battle with the Uchiha Clan cultivators, and the danger that had been involved, he couldn't shake the feeling of fear that remained in his heart.

"I wonder how Elder Sister Ryuzetsu and Elder Brother Amano are doing... Did they make their escape...?" At the moment, he didn't dare to use his jade slip to try to make contact with the sect. He was worried that the Uchiha Clan cultivators might still be around, and would detect the fluctuations of an attempted transmission. That could lead to a big problem. Patting his bag of holding, he produced Waraji's windskiff, and after a quick test, confirmed that it was now functional.

His eyes flashed with joy. Although he had his speculations about the current situation, he wasn't anxious to leave the area, so he found a mountain cave where he could rest for a bit. There, he produced his turtle-wok, as well as the medicinal pill given to him by the black-robed old man.

Soon, silver light flashed on the medicinal pill, and three spirit designs could be seen on its surface. Naruto picked up the pill, and his eyes gleamed with determination as he popped it into his mouth and swallowed it. Immediately, his body began to thrum, as though a burning fire were giving birth to an indescribable vital energy, which then coursed through him.

He began to shake, and he gritted his teeth, unleashing the Undying Live Forever Technique. Then, he slapped himself, revealing that his skin was no longer pitch black, but instead, now contained a bit of bronze. That bronze color was reaching the point where he almost looked like a statue made of the stuff.

The power inside of him grew more and more intense, and he felt stronger than ever.

However, the energy of the medicine had not been exhausted. After performing the threefold spirit enhancement, the medicinal pill had reached an incredible level of quality. Even in the moment in which his skin was completely bronze, cracking sounds rang out from within him, as if something were breaking.

Lines spread out rapidly across the surface of his skin, constantly increasing in number until they covered his entire body. An intense pain wracked him, but he endured, and soon, those lines began to turn silver!

The Undying Skin was broken up into the levels of Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold!

Even the black-robed old man could never have anticipated that the medicinal pill he gave to Naruto would receive a spirit enhancement, and would thus enable him to break through not just into the Bronze Skin level, but past it.

Rumbling sounds echoed out from inside Naruto for several days. More and more cracks appeared on his skin, and soon, pieces of skin began to fall off, almost as if he were molting. Furthermore, every falling piece revealed shining silver beneath it.

After ten days, the last bit of skin had fallen off. He was now completely silver, and although it was a dull silver color, when he opened his eyes, they shone with a bright silver glow.

He suddenly burst into motion, causing a shocking boom to ring out. He was now at least twice as fast as he had been before!

His eyes shone with joy as his right hand clenched into a fist and slammed into a nearby boulder. The boulder instantly shattered, not into large chunks, but into dust!

This level of power exceeded his previous level by several times!

Naruto was panting excitedly. As of this moment, he was confident that if he fought Madara again, the battle definitely wouldn't be as bitter.

After some more tests, something even more shocking was revealed. His defensive levels with the Undying Silver Skin were such that even his wooden sword with the threefold spirit enhancement was incapable of even scratching it.

Naruto's eyes shone with excitement. After ceasing the operation of the Undying Live Forever Technique, his body returned to its normal pure and fair state. He changed his clothes, then began to speed off into the distance, looking very pleased with himself.

After traveling through the jungle for a bit, Naruto started noticing clues that told the story of what had occurred. He quickly became convinced that his suppositions were correct. After emerging from the nameless mountains, he pushed on at top speed for several days until he was back in the Fallenstar Mountains, where he discovered the ruins of the Uchiha Clan. "It seems Ryuzetsu and Amano really did get word back to the sect." When he thought back to the bitter events he had lived through, he sighed, then turned and leaped back up onto the windskiff. Sitting down cross-legged, he set it whooshing off into the distance.

"Back to the sect!" he declared, eyes shining with anticipation. Then he realized that he most certainly had performed meritorious service for the sect, and would surely be handsomely rewarded when he got back.

That got him even more excited. As he traveled along, he turned his attention to his bag of holding. As he sifted through and organized all of the other bags of holding he had collected from the Uchiha Clan cultivators, he found quite a few random items inside, as well as spirit stones.

In one bag of holding, although he had forgotten who it had originally belonged to, he found the most valuable of all the items. It was a seed, roughly the size of a human fist. It pulsed, almost like a beating heart, as though it contained something alive. However, the beating was growing weaker and weaker.

After a bit of thought, Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation led him to a shocking conclusion. This was a valuable and legendary spirit seed, which had supposedly become extinct long ago. It was known as a Beastbirth Seed!

According to the legends, if it absorbed another spirit creature's quintessence, it would be able to naturally reproduce that very same spirit creature. To those powerful beasts which had difficulty reproducing, Beastbirth Seeds like this were virtually priceless.

It was the same for cultivators who had powerful spirit creature pets. Cultivators like that all thirsted to possess successive generations of their powerful spirit creatures. Unfortunately, they were usually limited to a single pet, which meant that Beastbirth Seeds were incredibly valuable to them.

It was impossible to say how the enemy Uchiha Clan cultivator had come to possess such a valuable item. Presumably, it was some type of good fortune that person had come across. After all, the Uchiha Clan had been located in the Fallenstar Mountains, a place... of boundless mysteries.

After some more thought, Naruto came to the conclusion that whichever Uchiha Clan cultivator discovered the Beastbirth Seed likely didn't know what it was, which would explain why it hadn't been maintained properly.

Along the way, Naruto picked up some wood which was infused with spiritual energy. After carving it into a little box, he carefully placed the Beastbirth Seed into it, where upon the seed's life force fluctuations gradually stabilized.

Naruto put the wooden box away and took a deep breath. Then, he sent the windskiff speeding over the horizon, following the same path they had originally taken, to make his way closer and closer to the Spirit Stream Sect.

A month passed by quickly enough. On the original trip, they hadn't possessed very many spirit stones, and thus had only used the windskiff at night. But now, Naruto's bag of holding was bulging with spirit stones, and he wasn't worried at all about wasting them. Therefore, it only took a month before the Spirit Stream Sect's south bank gate came into view.

"It's been more than half a year since I left. Finally, I'm back." Naruto stood atop the windskiff, hair whipping in the wind, looking every bit like a powerful master. However, he suddenly decided that it was the wrong image, and quickly changed back into the dilapidated, blood-stained Outer Sect disciple's robe that he had worn during his desperate battle with the Uchiha Clan.

Now he looked like someone who had been willing to fight to the death for the sect. Upon his return, the bloodstains on his garments, and the various places where the cloth had been ripped and punctured, would bear clear witness to the dangerous crises he had faced.

Feeling very pleased, he sent the windskiff even closer to the sect. However, just when he was about to cross the border, an invisible barrier appeared, sending the windskiff bouncing backward.

"Huh?" he thought. The force of the rebound almost knocked him off the Windskiff.

It was at this point that a beam of light suddenly shot toward him from the main gate. A young man appeared, expression placid as he looked at Naruto.

"Unknown Fellow Daoist, what brings you to the Spirit Stream Sect?" Even as the words left his mouth, he looked at the windskiff, and then at Naruto's clothes, and his brow furrowed. "You have a Spirit Stream Sect windskiff, and you're wearing the robes of an Outer Sect disciple? Plus the main gate of the Spirit Stream Sect prevented you from entering?! Who are you?!"

The young man's eyes glittered coldly as he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Instantly, his cultivation base surged with the fluctuations of the eighth level of Chakra Condensation.

Naruto backed up, looking at the shield in confusion.

"Elder Brother," he said, "what's going on? Why can't I enter the sect? I'm Outer Sect disciple Naruto from Fragrant Cloud Peak!"

The young man frowned, and just when he was about to say something, he started in surprise.

"Hold on, you're Naruto?" The more he studied Naruto, the more familiar he looked. He had attended Naruto's funeral service, in which his portrait had been on display above his gravestone. A tremor ran through the young man, and when he realized that Naruto's garments were stained with blood, he gasped. "You're... you're not dead?!"

"I'm not dead at all!" Even as Naruto stared in surprise, the young man excitedly pulled out a jade slip and sent a message back to the sect.

As the news about Naruto was being sent back, Taruho was in secluded meditation on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and a tremor ran through him.

At the same time, the news was passed to the sect leader, whose jaw dropped. He immediately sent a stream of divine sense out to the main gate of the south bank, and when he saw Naruto, he was first shocked, then delighted. He immediately began to send notifications out into the sect.

It only took a few breaths of time for gasps of disbelief to begin to rise up. The collective sound was so loud that it was even faintly audible outside of the main gate. Furthermore, bells began to toll.

"Naruto? Didn't he die? How could he be alive?!"

Countless people began to fly out from within the sect. Somewhat surprisingly, the very first in line was Amano. When he emerged from the main gate and saw Naruto, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. After the deadly chase they had both participated in, he never wanted to believe that Naruto was actually dead. However, deep in his heart, he was sure that no disciple could have been made it out of such a bitter situation.

Now, he was so excited he began to cry.

"Junior Brother Naruto!" he cried. Laughing, he rushed forward and embraced Naruto.

"Elder Brother Amano..." Naruto replied, blinking. By this point, he realized that the sect had thought him to be dead. He looked at Amano, eyes brimming with happiness.

"Come on, let's get back to the sect!" Amano said excitedly. He grabbed Naruto and immediately headed back through the main gate. With Amano there, Naruto could now enter the sect. As for the young man from earlier, he followed along, clearly shaken. He had personally participated in the extermination of the Uchiha Clan, and had seen the evidence of the battle fought by Naruto, including the mangled corpses of the Uchiha Clan cultivators. To see that Naruto had returned alive left him deeply astonished.

Almost as soon as Naruto walked through the front gate, more people began to rush toward him from all directions.

"Ninth Fatty?!" Big Fatty Choji, Third Fatty Kuro, and the other Fatty Elder Brothers from the servants district were so happy they were shaking. That was especially true of Big Fatty Choji, who gave Naruto a big bear hug, tears streaming down his face.

Naruto was moved. Seeing how many people were crowding around him, he suddenly felt as if everything he'd done really had been worth it.

Then, a beam of light flew over, which was Taruho, who had an incredulous look on his face as he looked at Naruto. In his hands was a bag, within which were all the bloodstained scraps of clothing he had gathered up when searching for Naruto.

He more than anyone understood the grave and deadly peril Naruto had faced.

Naruto hurried forward, clasping hands and bowing to Taruho. "Greetings, Peak Lord!"

Taruho was normally a very calm person, but right now he couldn't stop himself from trembling. Reaching out, he placed his hand on Naruto's head and said, "I'm just glad you're alive," Taruho said. "Just glad you're alive."

"This is my home!" Naruto said, puffing his chest out. "I'm willing to go through hell or high water for the sect!" Then he waved his sleeve, deliberately revealing the numerous blood-stained holes in it.

People continued to stream over from all three of the south bank's mountain peaks. Everyone wanted to see Naruto, and when they saw his dilapidated, blood-stained clothing, they were shocked.

That was especially true when people began to spread the words he had just spoken. Everyone was shaken, and when they looked at Naruto, in their hearts they felt... that he was a true Chosen of the sect.

As the crowd built, the weeping voice of a young woman could be heard. It was none other than Ryuzetsu. She had spent the recent days awash with tears, to the point where she had even lost weight. When she heard people saying that Naruto had returned, her mind began to thrum, and she instantly dropped everything and raced over.

When she actually laid eyes on Naruto, even more tears began to flow. She hurried over and wrapped her arms around him, crying and laughing and the same time. She almost didn't seem to dare to believe that what she was seeing was true. In response, Naruto felt a warm sensation in his heart.

His hands almost began to move in the direction of certain bulging areas of her clothing, but then he remembered that there were lots of people watching, and he held back.

"It's like I said, Elder Sister Ryuzetsu," he said coolly, lifting his chin, "if I, Naruto, have only one breath of air left, I would never let anyone harm you." As the sappy words left his mouth, he seemed like he was looking down on the entire world.

However, Ryuzetsu went a bit limp, and deep within her eyes, the hidden emotions therein turned even sweeter than before.

People from the Hall of Justice were also there, led by Yamato. When he saw Naruto, he looked shocked for a moment, but then profoundly pleased. That was especially true when he saw Naruto's tattered state, and then heard the words he had just spoken to Taruho, upon which he nodded his head.

"Naruto, I am Yamato from the Hall of Justice."

When Naruto heard the words 'Hall of Justice', his heart thumped, but then he thought back to the incredible service he had performed. Chest puffed out just like before, he clasped hands respectfully to Yamato.

Yamato rarely smiled, but he was smiling now as he said, "Why don't you come back with me to see the sect leader and talk about what happened with the Uchiha Clan?"

He waved his finger in Naruto's direction, causing a spirit fog to appear beneath his feet, which sent him flying off into the distance with Yamato.

Taruho looked profoundly glad as he transformed into a beam of light that also shot away with them.

As for all the other disciples, they watched Naruto leave, and most heaved surprised sighs, and began to discuss the matter amongst themselves as they dispersed. Of course, the news about Naruto being alive spread rapidly.

Eventually, virtually everyone in the Spirit Stream Sect came to know of the matter. Most people were very happy, but back in his immortal's cave, Zori was shaking, and a look of terror could be seen on his face.

"Dammit, I can't believe he's not dead! How could he have escaped from such deadly pursuit!?

"He probably doesn't know that I'm the one who arranged for him to go on that mission though... Right? There's no way he could know..." Various expressions flashed across Zori's face. Finally, he sighed, thinking about all the possible bad things that could happen.

The Spirit Stream Sect had eight mountain peaks. Four were on the north bank, three were on the south bank, and one was in the middle... That was Mount Daoseed, which was the public seat of the sect's power. Normally, Sect Leader Hiruzen would handle sect affairs from that very location.

Currently, bells were tolling as the Lords of the various mountain peaks of the north and south bank sat tall and straight in the main temple hall. The sect leader was also there, sitting in the center position.

Soon, Taruho and Yamato arrived with Naruto. They left Naruto outside of the temple hall, telling him to wait there as they went in.

There were four disciples stationed as guards outside the temple, who cast curious glances Naruto's way.

Naruto smiled back at them. This was his first time coming to this place; the spiritual energy was abundant, and the fragrant aroma of plants and flowers filled the air. There were no extraneous sounds in the air; everything was calm and quiet, much different than Fragrant Cloud Peak.

This was a very important place in the sect, and normally, any disciple who came here would act very cautious and discreet. However, Naruto didn't seem to feel any pressure at all, and stood there looking very much at ease.

The four disciples couldn't help but sigh at this, and muse that Naruto really did deserve to be known as a big shot in the sect, someone who had performed an incredible service. After all, ordinary people could never act so casually in a place like this.

The truth was that although Naruto feared death, after considering the meritorious service he had performed, he knew that he wouldn't be dying here. Therefore, it was only natural that he wouldn't be afraid. He stuck out his chest, heart filled with anticipation over what his reward might be.

"Considering the level of service I provided for the sect, they'll have to give me a medicinal pill to increase my longevity by a hundred years. They'll most likely give me 1,000,000 merit points too, and probably an incredible immortal's cave. I'm sure to be promoted to the Inner Sect as well. Hahaha." The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. After a long moment passed, however, no word came calling him into the temple.

Naruto was a bit taken aback. He continued to wait until he was yawning before, finally, a voice spoke in a somewhat begrudging tone.

"Naruto, come in."

His spirits instantly lifted. Taking a deep breath, he tried to look like the picture of a disciple who would go through hell or high water for his sect. Striding into the main temple, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Disciple Naruto from Fragrant Cloud Peak, at your service. Greetings, Sect Leader. Greetings, other Senior members of the sect."

After offering formal greetings, Naruto looked up. He immediately caught sight of an old man sitting in the middle of the group. He looked threatening without being angry, and wore a long white robe. His cultivation base was completely unreadable.

He was surrounded by eight others, a group of six men and two women. Taruho and Yamato were among them, and all of them seemed to be measuring up this Naruto who had somehow returned alive.

Their eyes lingered on his garments. Considering the power of their eyesight, it was instantly obvious to them that Naruto's clothing had not been intentionally torn, but that he had truly experienced a deadly battle.

They also noticed how pure and fair he seemed. He spoke courteously, and was neither haughty nor overly humble. From the expression on his face, he seemed completely at ease.

Although none of them reacted at all to what they were seeing, inwardly, their impressions of Naruto improved even more. However, a few were still somewhat suspicious of exactly what had occurred.

Taruho looked at Naruto and then slowly said, "Naruto, please explain in detail everything involved with the mission to the Uchiha Clan, from start to finish."

Looking very serious, Naruto calmly recounted everything that had occurred, from beginning to end. He left out the incident with the black-robed old man; that was his secret to keep.

He wove Waraji sacrificing himself into the story, as well as the various difficulties they had faced. He was an intelligent person, so he didn't mention anything at all of what he had done that was worthy of merit, but instead continued to praise Waraji, Ryuzetsu and Amano.

"It's all my fault for being useless," he said. "Elder Brother Waraji died trying to save me. It's all my fault..."

The more he went on in this way, the more the sect leader and the others' eyes shone with approval. Of course, these people had practiced cultivation for many years, and were as crafty as devils. From the moment Naruto came back wearing that one particular set of clothing, they could tell what type of person he was. Even so, their praise only continued to grow.

"After he lost consciousness, he just woke up all healed?" the sect leader thought, smiling. He didn't mind this version of Naruto's explanation. After all, disciples always had secrets to maintain. It was best for them to feel like they belonged in the sect, and exercising absolute control of every aspect of their lives would only serve to have the opposite effect.

After the story was finished, the sect leader said, "Naruto, your reward was already announced several months ago. Back then, you became the Spirit Stream Sect's... Prestige disciple!"

When the Sect Leader actually spoke the words 'Prestige disciple', a strange feeling rose up in his heart. After all, this was the first time there had ever been a living Prestige disciple.

That was one of the reasons why the discussion had been so difficult earlier. The position of Prestige disciple was extremely important, and had previously only been conferred upon people who had died in battle, never living disciples. And yet, here Naruto was right in front of them, healthy and no worse for wear...

That was one reason why all of them had been so shocked to hear the news that he was alive.

Furthermore, it was a status that could not just be stripped away. The funeral service had been carried out, and the meritorious service performed. The group had been somewhat perplexed about what to do, and thus had left Naruto waiting outside for some time.

After much discussion, they decided that there was no way to change what had already been announced. In accordance with the sect rules, they would allow Naruto to keep that position.

"Prestige disciple?" Naruto asked, looking shocked. He had never heard of any such title before, so he simply stood there, looking blankly at the sect leader and the other Senior sect members. Although all of them had strange expressions on their faces, they didn't say anything else regarding a reward.

Naruto couldn't hold back from asking, "Uh... that's it?"

"That's it," replied the Sect Leader, smiling.

Naruto instantly started to get nervous, and then prepared to start explaining how difficult the journey had been, how many times he had almost died. Before he could start, Taruho, who knew Naruto better than anyone, cleared his throat and said, "Hurry up and thank the sect leader. The title of Prestige disciple has only been given out ten times throughout the history of the Spirit Stream Sect. You are the only person to get it within the past thousand years.

"As the Prestige disciple, you rank higher than the Inner Sect, and have the most prestigious glory in the entire Spirit Stream Sect. Your descendants will all have special access to sect resources, and will be Inner Sect disciples from birth. The Spirit Stream Sect will protect your bloodline for all eternity!

"Currently, there are nine great clans who are part of the Spirit Stream Sect, and all of them are Prestige clans. It's a truly glorious and honorable position."

When Naruto heard the explanation, a somewhat sad expression appeared on his face. His spirits suddenly sank, and he looked miserably at Taruho, then back at the sect leader.

He wasn't sure what to say. Although the position of Prestige disciple seemed incredible, the truth was that it had been created for the descendants of people who had died. But he was still alive... Sadly, Naruto was now in the unfortunate position of being jealous of his own progeny.

"Thanks... Sect leader..." he said sadly, lacking the energy to even speak.

Sect Leader Hiruzen cleared his throat awkwardly. "From this day on, you may address me as Elder Brother sect leader."

The matter of having Naruto become the apprentice of his own master had been made because he assumed Naruto had sacrificed his life. But now that he was alive, it led to a very awkward situation. The sect leader, despite having many years of life under his belt, would now have a twenty-year-old kid calling him Elder Brother. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Really?" Naruto asked, his eyes widening. All of a sudden, he felt much, much better. He had entered the temple hall with high expectations, only to have them cruelly crushed. That led to him being in a horrible mood. But now, things had changed.

"Based on the meritorious service you performed, and considering that you had no formal Master, I took the responsibility to accept you as an apprentice of my own Master. Therefore, from now on you can call me Elder Brother." The Sect Leader couldn't feel more awkward.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes filled with excitement. He suddenly was filled with the sensation that the sect truly had treated him well. The sect leader's Master would most definitely be ranked as a prime elder in the sect, which caused Naruto's eyes to radiate with excitement.

"From now on," he thought, "nobody will dare to bully me, not with an awesome Master like that! Hahaha!" Heart leaping with joy, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Many thanks, Elder Brother sect leader," he said, sounding elated. "Elder Brother sect leader, where exactly is our Master? I would love to go pay my respects."

A strange expression could be seen on the sect leader's face as he slowly said, "There's no hurry in that. There was a portrait made of him before he passed away in meditation, which was enshrined on the back side of the mountain. I've already made arrangements for some people to escort you over there shortly."

Naruto felt as if he were being struck by lightning. "Passed away in meditation... Enshrined on the back side of the mountain..."

His jaw dropped as the words he had just spoken echoed in his mind. After a long moment, he pulled himself together... The Master he had become apprenticed to... had already passed away.

"I..." Naruto was now starting to seethe with anger, and his mind was buzzing. Once again his heart sank, and he wanted to cry, although no tears would come. It was in a virtual daze that he allowed himself to be led to the rear of the mountain, where he paid formal respects to the portrait of his Master. Afterward, he left Mount Daoseed and returned to Fragrant Cloud Peak.

On Fragrant Cloud Peak, numerous disciples hurried over to offer greetings. Curious expressions could be seen in their eyes, and someone even kindly took him over to look at his own gravestone.

When Naruto saw the gravestone, everything seemed to go black.

Eventually, he found himself back in his courtyard, sitting blankly in his log cabin, rage building up within him. "I... I became the apprentice of a painting..."

Several days later, he was still there, looking miserable. Half a month passed before he managed to collect himself.

Sighing miserably, he left his residence to look for Big Fatty Choji, to reminisce about the past. However, as soon as he walked out, he ran into an Outer Sect disciple who instantly clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Sect Uncle Naruto."

Naruto took a few more steps, then stopped and turned around, eyes shining as he grabbed the Outer Sect disciple and pulled him forward.

"What did you just call me?"

"Sect Uncle Naruto!" the Outer Sect disciple instantly replied. "Sir, you're the Junior Brother of the sect leader. D-disciple would naturally call you Sect Uncle Naruto!"

Naruto's fists loosened, and his eyes began to shine even more brightly. His heart also started pounding. This new status of his wasn't all that bad after all. He had a terrifying level of seniority...

Licking his lips, he began to laugh, which frightened the Outer Sect disciple so much that he started to edge backward, unsure of what madness had struck Naruto.

Naruto suddenly stopped laughing. Clearing his throat, he put on the air of a Senior sect member and nodded slightly at the Outer Sect disciple. Instead of going to look for Big Fatty Choji, it was with keen anticipation that he headed toward the Missions Office.

Because... that was where the most people would be.

Meanwhile, Taruho had returned to Fragrant Cloud Peak, and was in secluded meditation. After seating himself cross-legged, he thought for a bit, and then waved his sleeve. Expression serious, he began to concoct pills.

"Naruto is stubborn and mischievous. I need to prepare a life-saving magical item for him. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at equipment forging, but I can make a batch of Nine Ultimates Pills to trade with the Pill Stream Sect... When they find out I'm preparing a magical item for a Chakra Condensation disciple, and a younger relative at that, they'll definitely rip me off." Taruho shook his head, but didn't mind. In order to concoct Nine Ultimates Pills, he would have to use some of his own heart-blood, but when the thought about how close Naruto had come to dying, he settled his Chakra, cleared his mind, and began preparations to start concocting.

Naruto was the type of person who liked to find the fun in anything... Now that he had discovered the joy in being the Junior Brother of the sect leader, he couldn't be more happy. He strutted along the mountain paths of the sect until he saw the Missions Office off in the distance.

Clearing his throat, he straightened his garments and assumed the air of a Senior member of the sect. Sticking his chin up, he clasped his hands behind his back and sauntered forward.

The Missions Office was one of the busiest places in the sect, and today it was as packed as usual. The clamor of Outer Sect disciples coming and going could be heard from quite a distance away.

When Naruto arrived, he stood there with a benevolent smile on his face, looking around at all the Outer Sect disciples.

Almost as soon as he appeared, people noticed, and the disciples nearest to him, who were in the middle of discussing various mission-related topics, suddenly gaped.

"That's... that's Sect Uncle Naruto! Greetings, Sect Uncle Naruto!"

Clasping hands in his direction, they called out, "Greetings, Sect Uncle Naruto!"

After hearing them, more people looked over, and soon, virtually all of the Outer Sect disciples in the area were clasping hands in greeting.

Bursting with joy at hearing everyone call him Sect Uncle Naruto, he strode forward, smiling, hands clasped behind his back as he said, "Keep up the good work, everyone."

The surrounding disciples looked at him enviously and began to murmur among themselves.

"Wow, Sect Uncle Naruto is the sect leader's Junior Brother..."

There were a few honor guards stationed at the Missions Office, and when they saw Naruto walking up, they hastily rose to their feet and clasped hands in greeting. Virtually the entire Missions Office lurched to a halt as everyone turned to look. Naruto was only getting more exciting.

"Carry on, everyone," he said. "There's no need to worry about me. I'm just here on behalf of Elder Brother sect leader to inspect the Outer Sect disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect." Happiness blossomed in the depths of his heart. In response to his words, the surrounding disciples once again clasped hands, and even the elders from the Missions Office came out and nodded politely to him.

However... although Naruto had clearly told them not to pay him any heed, he didn't leave. He strolled through the crowd, nodding to those he recognized and reveling in their calls of 'Sect Uncle Naruto.' Some of the disciples even said it ten times...

Soon, strange looks appeared on their faces as they realized that apparently, Naruto had actually come to hear them call him Sect Uncle Naruto... In the end, he decided not to push things too far. Waving at everyone, he swaggered away, and soon the Missions Office returned to its normal state of affairs.

"What an awesome status," he thought, his eyes shining. Not only did he feel incredibly happy, most importantly, he could tell that his status was vastly removed from everyone else.

"Prestige disciple. Junior Brother of the sect leader. Might as well just say that nobody in the sect will ever dare to provoke me, right?" Having reached this point in his train of thoughts, Naruto laughed heartily and hurried off in the direction of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

The 10,000 Medicines Pavilion... was also packed.

It didn't take long for him to get there, and when he did, he looked up at the ten stone steles and listened to everyone call him Sect Uncle Naruto. He stood there for quite a while, sighing, until strange expressions began to appear on the faces of the disciples. Reluctantly, he left. By that time, evening was falling, but he didn't feel tired at all, and went over to one of the locations where a lot of Outer Sect disciples resided.

Sora had just stepped out, and when he saw Naruto, he immediately clasped hands.

Naruto thumped Sora on the shoulder and then spoke in a wise, reprimanding tone. "Ah, it's you, Little Treasure! After all the time I've been gone, you haven't made much progress with your cultivation base! We can't have that! You need to work hard at your cultivation!"

Sora's jaw dropped, and he blinked. His heart trembled a bit after hearing Naruto call him 'Little Treasure'. At this age, only his father would call him something like that, and even then, only in private. Despite feeling a bit odd, he didn't dare to say anything, and merely nodded in assent.

"I... um, I mean, as an important person like myself..." Naruto suddenly realized that with a position like his, it would be improper to simply refer to himself as "I", and so he decided to try to make himself sound like an important person, like Taruho. He cleared his throat. Clasping his hands behind his back, he stuck his jaw out and said, "As an important person like myself, I'm not very familiar with this area. Could you show me around a bit?"

Sora had no choice but to immediately begin to show Naruto around.

More and more disciples were returning home, and when they caught sight Naruto, they looked a bit surprised. Many of them had already seen him earlier at the Missions Office and the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. Seeing him here caused them to exchange quizzical glances. However, they had no other option than to clasp hands and offer greetings.

Naruto once again revelled in the glory of this status. Joy surged in his heart at the sight of one Outer Sect disciple after another offering greetings. It was late at night before he finally left, feeling very pleased with himself.

As he walked along, he saw the spirit tail chicken farm, and decided to stop by. Before long, calls of 'Sect Uncle Naruto' could be heard. When he left, he held two spirit tail chickens in his hands.

"Ah, the perks of having status. When I wanted to eat chickens before, I had to steal them. Now I can just take them openly. Who would dare to provoke me now, huh? My Elder Brother is the sect leader!" Naruto hummed a little tune as he strolled back to his residence, emanating an air of pride and complacency.

Early the next morning, when the sun had just risen, Naruto crawled out of bed, feeling in very high spirits. Straightening his clothes, he looked at himself in his copper mirror and selected the best pose he could come up with, then stepped out.

Then he went about doing things in a very serious way, as if it were... his job...

He didn't go to the Missions Office, but instead, visited many other locations on Fragrant Cloud Peak. He even went to watch the fighting competition...

Throughout the day, he heard countless people call him Sect Uncle Naruto. To him, it was almost as if he had become an Immortal. His spirits were so high he nearly burst. And then... the third day arrived. Then the fourth, and the fifth...

He strolled around the sect for more than ten days in a row. By that point, virtually all of the Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak had called him Sect Uncle Naruto, and were on the verge of going crazy. To call a kid like him Sect Uncle might be fine if it only happened once. But the more they had to call it out, the worse they felt.

Naruto's days were long and fulfilling, and he especially liked it when he ran into people he knew. He would quickly hurry over and call out a greeting...

One day he saw Iwashi. Eyes shining, he hurried over and grabbed his arm and said, "Sect Nephew Iwashi, long time no see! Don't rush off!"

When Iwashi heard the term 'Sect Nephew', his face twitched. "Sect Uncle Naruto, we've... we've run into each other several times in the past few days..."

Naruto blinked, then cleared his throat. It was at that point that he saw someone else nearby, someone who had noticed him and was just turning to leave.

"Eee?" he said. "Sect Nephew Tokuma, long time no see!" He quickly released Iwashi and hurried over to stand in front of Tokuma, face beaming.

Tokuma seemed to be on the verge of going mad. He had run into Naruto every day recently, usually at least three times... From what he had heard, it was the same with everyone who personally knew Naruto. The person who had it worst of all was an unlucky fellow who called himself Lord Wolf, who supposedly was visited by Naruto dozens of times per day...

"Sect Uncle Naruto, uh... I have something to take care of, I have to run." Tokuma promptly fled as though his life depended on it.

Ten days later, the Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak had begun to pretend not to notice Naruto. That of course left him less than pleased, and forced him to take the initiative more often.

Naruto grabbed one of Kurenai's former fans and said, "Aiya! You seem so familiar! Come, come, as an important person like myself, I sometimes forget things. Have we met already?"

The disciple looked downright wretched as Naruto began to chat with him. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, and after the disciple had called him Sect Uncle Naruto more than thirty times, Naruto finally seemed pleased, and allowed the miserable-looking disciple to leave.

However, such a strategy wasn't really viable long-term. After realizing that everyone was avoiding him, he decided that he needed to take more initiative. In the following days, he would frequently clear his throat to alert people to his presence.

The results were only average, leaving Naruto feeling quite down. Thankfully, there was another girl besides Ryuzetsu whom Naruto found quite charming.

It was Amaru, who would take the initiative to come find him every day. There was no need for him to clear his throat; she was so enthusiastic she could hardly stand still in front of him, and would follow him around fawningly and call him Sect Uncle.

The other Outer Sect disciples felt a bit sick when they saw that, but Naruto was delighted. Some time ago, Naruto had provided her with some education regarding the mysterious little turtle of Fragrant Cloud Peak. She still adored the little turtle, and on one occasion when she was walking around with Naruto, she asked him what he thought of the little turtle.

"The little turtle? He's mysterious and unfathomable. He is naturally talented, and in the 10,000 year history of the Spirit Stream Sect, he is a rarely-seen, grandiose figure. He's like a white cloud in a clear sky, someone that everyone can look up to!" In the end, he coughed dryly. After uttering such grandiose words, Naruto had to work hard not to just blurt out to Amaru that he was the little turtle. However, he was still determined to find a time when he was the focus of all attention to tell Amaru about his grand identity.

"I feel the same way," Amaru responded, eyes glittering brightly. "I've told a lot of people that the little turtle is oblivious to material rewards. He pursues the Dao of medicine, and does not worry himself with worldly matters. He's definitely like a white cloud in a clear sky."

For a while, there had been a lot of rumors that Naruto was the little turtle. However, those rumors had eventually been refuted. Everyone had an idea of what they thought the little turtle looked like, and it definitely wasn't Naruto.

The fact that Amaru responded in such a way didn't really register to Naruto. He was currently thinking about one of the top five beauties of the south bank, Kurenai.

"I wonder what it would be like to hear a proud Chosen like Kurenai call me Sect Uncle?" he thought. The mere idea got him excited, and from that day on, he began to search relentlessly for Kurenai.

As the saying goes, everything comes to him who waits. One day, he looked up and happened to see Kurenai soaring through the air on her blue flying silk.

"Sect Niece Kurenai!" he shouted.

Kurenai's face twisted into an unsightly expression. She had heard about what Naruto had been doing during the past month, and knew that all of the Outer Sect disciples had been talking about the matter in fearful tones. When the words "Sect Niece Kurenai" entered her ears, goosebumps sprang up all over her body. She immediately pretended as if she hadn't heard him and proceeded along her way. However, how could she have imagined... that Naruto would stubbornly run along beneath her, crying out at the top of his lungs.

"Sect Niece Kurenai, come on, have a chat with your Sect Uncle about life!" He was actually bursting with excitement; he had been looking for Kurenai for quite some time, and having finally run into her, there was no way he would simply give up.

Kurenai gritted her teeth and picked up speed. It was only by leaving Fragrant Cloud Peak that she was finally able to shake him.

Naruto watched as she flew away, and sighed with regret.

"Ah it doesn't matter. You can fly, but I'll be able to fly eventually too. One of these days, I'll get you to call me Sect Uncle Naruto." Feeling a bit depressed, he looked up at the darkening sky and then went to look for Ryuzetsu.

As soon as she saw him coming, she covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. "Sect Uncle Naruto, Sect Uncle Naruto, Sect Uncle Naruto..."

Naruto's spirits instantly soared because of Ryuzetsu's charmingness. A few days before, one of the sect elders had taken her as an apprentice because of the services she had rendered. Then she had been assigned to Eastwood City to serve as the Spirit Stream Sect's emmisary there. It was a great opportunity for Ryuzetsu; after spending a few years in Eastwood City, considering her past experience and meritorious service, she would be directly promoted into the Inner Sect.

Furthermore, she would have lot of authority in Eastwood City, and access to even more abundant cultivation resources than were available in the main sect.

Naruto sighed with regret as he saw her off. Then he continued to wander around Fragrant Cloud Peak looking for interesting things to do.

Time passed. A month later, the words 'Sect Uncle Naruto' had become somewhat taboo. Whenever anyone thought of them, they would laugh bitterly.

By that point, Naruto finally came to the conclusion that it was time to call an end to the matter.

"I, Naruto, am the Junior Brother of the Spirit Stream Sect's sect leader. I am the Sect Uncle to all disciples, not just the disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak. I can't discriminate against the other mountain peaks. I need to go visit them too." After a bit of thought, he decided that it truly was the right thing to do. Thus, he headed toward Violet Cauldron Peak.


	17. Chapter 17

One month later, the Outer Sect disciples on Violet Cauldron Peak were about to go crazy. Naruto had virtually made a career out of being a Sect Uncle, and everyone there knew it.

They quickly came to find that it didn't matter where they went, they were likely to run into a very pure and fair young man, slender, with a certain proud look on his face that he tried to cover up, but was unable to. As he swaggered along, he would loudly clear his throat whenever he encountered another disciple, and if they pretended they didn't recognize him, he would immediately introduce himself.

Their throats began to go hoarse from speaking the words 'Sect Uncle Naruto', and yet... they had no choice but to continue doing so. After all, Naruto was the Junior Brother of the sect leader, and in terms of seniority, he outranked everyone. Any disciple who dared to offend him was essentially violating sect rules.

Eventually, people went to Big Fatty Choji to ask for help. In turn, he made a huge fanfare about seeing Naruto off... to visit Green Crest Peak.

Another month passed, and the disciples of Green Crest Peak… were also driven crazy.

That was especially true of Ebisu and his two friends, who were soon frightened out of their minds. Once Naruto began to do the rounds at Green Crest Peak, he would frequently look for them. Despite the fact that they would instantly begin to blabber greetings to 'Sect Uncle Naruto', that didn't end things.

Naruto was quick to nitpick, and if they showed even an iota of disrespect, he would imply that he would report them to the Hall of Justice. Ebisu and his friends began to shake with fear, and were soon treading on thin ice no matter where they went. In the end, they finally ratted out Zori. After giving them another good thrashing, Naruto finally let them off the hook. Sighing, he left Green Crest Peak, all the while blaming himself for what was going on.

"The Outer Sect disciples all know me, but I haven't had a chance to meet any of the Inner Sect disciples. And then there's Zori. Does he really think I've forgotten about him?" After a long moment of thought, Naruto nodded deeply at the prospect of the immense pleasure he was about to experience. With that, he hurried off to find some Inner Sect disciples.

In the following days, Naruto made appearances on all three of the mountain peaks, most of the time in the areas occupied by the Inner Sect disciples. Considering his status, he could go almost anywhere in the Spirit Stream Sect.

However, he quickly lost interest. The Inner Sect disciples all happened to be in secluded meditation, and he hardly saw a single one even after a few months passed. That was especially true of Zori, whose immortal's cave was constantly under the protection of several spell formations.

"I refuse to believe this just a coincidence!" Naruto thought as he stood there in front of Zori's door. He tried to break through the spell formations, but considering they were there to protect the immortal's cave of an Inner Sect disciple, they were simply too powerful. Seeing that it was impossible for him to succeed on his own, he decided that it would be best to go get some help in breaking them open.

However, it was at this point that two people appeared off in the distance, racing in his direction. They were Inner Sect disciples, one tall, one short, and as they closed in, they didn't even make a show of clasping their hands in greeting.

The first one to speak was the tall one. Voice cool, he said, "Sect Uncle Naruto, how about you give my clan's Young Lord a bit of face and forget about what happened with Zori? Oh, by the way, that Young Lord is none other than Zabuza."

From the young man's tone of voice, he made it clear what he expected Naruto to do.

Zabuza was the most respected among the three great Chosen of the three mountain peaks of the south bank!

Latent talent such as his had been rare for at least a thousand years on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, and although he was only an Outer Sect disciple, there was no question that he would soon reach Foundation Establishment. Because of that, many of the elders in the sect viewed Zabuza as being a bit different from everyone else. Many people even hoped that he would eventually be able to outdo the disciples of the north bank, and as such, a lot of resources were being put into his training.

That in turn caused Zabuza to have a lot of fans, especially on Green Crest Peak.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever. In the past, he might have started to get scared. However, his general fear of death did not indicate that he lacked courage. In fact, as long as a situation didn't carry the threat of death, he was actually quite dauntless.

Because of his current status, there was virtually nothing and no one in the sect who could threaten his life, and therefore, he simply turned his nose up and stared at the two newcomers with a slight smile.

"When you meet an important person like me, but fail to offer formal greetings, it shows what great gall the two of you have, doesn't it?" He flicked his sleeve. "Who might it be that egged you on into such impertinent disrespect? Might it have been Zabuza?"

The two Inner Sect disciples' expressions flickered, and the tall one's gaze turned sharp as he stared at Naruto.

"Sect Uncle Naruto," he said, "you'd do best to pick your words a bit more carefully."

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, and before he could continue speaking, Naruto suddenly vanished. A blast of wind swept across the Inner Sect disciple, who stared in shock as Naruto appeared directly in front of him.

His speed was so incredible that the two Inner Sect disciples hadn't even seen him move. Before they could react, Naruto stretched his palm back and swept it toward the tall disciple's face, causing a sound like thunder to rumble out.

Almost instantly, a protective shield sprang up from within the young man's robe, the result of a magical device given to all Inner Sect disciples. However, in almost the same instant that the shield appeared, Naruto's palm landed, and it shattered into a thousand pieces. It was completely incapable of standing up to the incredible power of Naruto's palm.

A massive slap rang out, and the tall disciple instantly saw stars. His mind thrummed, and he almost felt like he had been crushed by a mountain. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he slammed into the ground, tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut. After rolling along for several dozen meters, shrieking the entire way, he finally lapsed into unconsciousness.

Everything happened so quickly that the short disciple could do nothing more than stand there, mouth agape, mind spinning. After a moment, he began to edge backward, glancing first at his unconscious comrade and then back at Naruto. Then he took a deep breath, and swallowed hard.

"Y-you... you..." he stammered, pointing shakily at Naruto. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that Naruto's fleshly body power would be so shocking.

It seemed on par with the eighth level of Chakra Condensation...

Naruto turned slowly to look at the short disciple, and then said, "Can an Inner Sect disciple really gesture so rudely to someone of the elder generation?"

Then he began to walk forward.

Shrieking, the short disciple turned tail and fled. However, before he could get very far, the sound of a screaming wind filled the air as Naruto bore down on him and once again unleashed a mighty slap.

It was at that very moment that a stern, sinister voice rang out from down below.

"Stay your hand!" Suddenly, a newcomer appeared on the scene.

However, Naruto paid him no heed. His palm moved too quickly, and the short Inner Sect disciple was sent flying. Teeth spun through the air, and blood spattered. The disciple's neck seemed to be on the verge of breaking as he flew off to the side, unconscious.

With that, Naruto shook out his hand and looked at the person racing up from further down the mountain. It was a middle-aged man with a cultivation base in the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, a level of power similar to Madara.

The man glared furiously at Naruto and said, "Didn't you hear what I just said, Naruto? Dammit! You're-"

Naruto lifted his chin, smiled, and interrupted, "Sect Nephew, are you looking to get slapped as well?"

From the actions of the two disciples moments ago, as well as this man's words, it was clear that they didn't have the least bit of respect for him, and furthermore, even disdained him to some degree, as though they felt that they completely outranked him. Inner Sect disciples like that were completely contemptible as far as he was concerned.

Naruto's words caused various expressions to flash across the man's face, and he bit back his next words. Naruto's impressive display of fleshly body strength left him breathless and in complete shock. Now that the man thought about it, he realized that, considering Naruto's status, it didn't matter what he did here, the Hall of Justice wouldn't care a bit.

The middle-aged man stared at Naruto for a long moment, suppressed his fury, and then explained his purpose in coming. "Naruto, my clan's Young Lord wishes for you to go offer him formal greetings."

He had actually been sent by Zabuza to order Naruto go offer formal greetings.

In his opinion, his clan's Young Lord was making a mountain out of a molehill. Naruto had lucked his way into being an important person, and was more of a clown than anything else. He had killed a few weak members of some cultivator clan, and it was only by chance that the sect ended up making a big deal about him. That certainly didn't earn him the right to be given face by a Young Lord who was already making his meteoric rise, and would certainly reach the Gold Core stage and forge a legend in the future.

In fact, this man actually felt that being sent to fetch Naruto to come offer greetings was a bit below his status.

Naruto could already see how arrogant of a person Zabuza was. Considering his own status, if he didn't come in person, or if he chose to just send a message, it might be acceptable. But instead, he actually wanted Naruto to go visit him! "Even if he's a Chosen, do you really think an Outer Sect disciple can order me to offer him greetings? He should be the one coming to greet me!"

The middle-aged man flicked his sleeve, sending out a blast of wind. "Naruto," he grated furiously, "for my clan's Young Lord to ask you to go visit him is a huge show of face. Do you know how many people wish they could go offer formal greetings? You-"

Before he could finish speaking, his face flickered, and he leaped backward. However, he was just a bit too slow. Naruto appeared directly in front of him and reached back his palm.

"How dare you!" The man's cultivation base was in the ninth level of Chakra Condensation, and he unleashed all of its power, simultaneously performing an incantation gesture that summoned numerous wind blades. However, even as the wind blades appeared in front of him, Naruto's palm smashed into them, crushing them like twigs. They couldn't provide even the slightest bit of protection.

The palm proceeded onward almost as if nothing had attempted to block its way, landing almost instantly on the man's face.

A slapping sound echoed out, followed by a scream. The middle-aged man staggered backward thirty meters or more before finally lurching to a stop.

With that, Naruto swished his sleeve and snorted arrogantly. "You're not even as powerful as Madara. No wonder you're such a lackey! Screw off!"

The man looked back at Naruto in astonishment. He was shaking visibly, and his cheek was already swelling up. Blood oozing from between his teeth, he quickly fled.

After the man left, Naruto looked back toward Zori's immortal's cave with narrowed eyes. He was the type of person who feared death, and as such, if someone tried to kill him, he would seek revenge upon them no matter what.

It didn't matter if Zori asked for help from Zabuza, there was no possible way Naruto would let him off the hook. Although Naruto's actions in the sect recently had seemed somewhat casual, he had actually long since carried out a thorough investigation about Zori.

"You think you can hide away in there?" he thought. "You think I have no way of making you show your face?" With a cold snort, he turned to leave.

Based on his current status, what happened next was no surprise. A jade slip from the Hall of Justice appeared, a mission. It took only a moment for it to pass into Zori's immortal's cave, and hover in the air in front of him.

It was just like what had happened with Naruto. Zori was being forced to accept a very dangerous mission outside the sect. A bitter smile appeared on his face, as he realized that he had no choice but to emerge from hiding to carry out the mission... However, he still clung to the hope that being outside of the sect might help him avoid catastrophe.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated the lengths to which Naruto would go to exact his revenge. He had already arranged for several such missions to be assigned to Zori. Furthermore, he'd asked for some help from Amano. The Sky Clan had a Foundation Establishment patriarch, and access to other deep reserves. Considering how important Naruto was to them, and coupled with the urgings of Amano and Amaru, they had become a powerful ally.

With the help of the Sky Clan, it was a foreordained certainty that Zori would be struck with misfortune during the course of trying to carry out the missions.

It wasn't that the Hall of Justice was unaware of what had occurred with Zori, and how it led to Naruto's fall in combat. However, despite the fact that the news was never spread publically, internal records had been maintained.

Now that Naruto was back and wanted to settle accounts, there was little they could do to stop him. In fact, it was almost as if they owed him, and were simply allowing him to do what he wanted. To top it off, there were even some people who had already come to view Zori as dead.

In a certain location near the summit of Green Crest Peak was a solitary little path. At the end of that path was a pool of water, within which swam several golden-colored fish.

Next to the pond was an immortal's cave. It was a somewhat remote and isolated place, very quiet, with abundant spiritual energy that clearly exceeded anything else nearby.

On the bank of the pond sat a young man. He wore the long robe of an Outer Sect disciple, and was exceedingly good-looking, with long black hair, fair skin, and a refined, intelligent air.

He was the type of young man that female disciples would sigh over constantly, whose phoenix-like eyes were delicate, and yet glistened with flickering light. Overall, he seemed completely unique.

He currently held a fishing rod, which he would occasionally cast out into the pond, whereupon the fish would voraciously compete to gobble up the food attached to the end of the line.

The middle-aged man who Naruto had just slapped was hurrying up the path, face ashen. When he reached the end, he slowed down and respectfully clasped hands and bowed to the young man.

"Greetings, Young Lord," he said through gritted teeth. "Young Lord, Naruto doesn't know how to appreciate favors. I carefully relayed your message, but instead of coming to offer greetings, he acted bossy and domineering. He thinks he can simply throw his weight around with impunity!"

The young man looked over, his expression seemingly ambivalent. "Well," he said coolly, "forget about it then. He's a nobody. It was mostly just on a whim that I thought to have him come offer greetings."

The man nodded. "I think I understand what you mean, Young Lord. The reason he's a nobody is that the position of Prestige disciple is only given to dead people, right? Plus, being the Junior Brother of the Sect Leader is a complete joke. In fact, his Master is actually a corpse." The man chuckled coldly for a moment, but then shivered as he realized that the young man was staring at him with an icy expression. All of a sudden, the middle-aged man was struck with fear. "Young... Young Lord..."

"It's true that he's a nobody," the young man said, "not even worth paying attention to. However, the Sect Leader's Master is a former patriarch of our sect. Do you really think you qualify to even mention him? Go to the Frigid Abyss and slap yourself for three months straight as punishment." With that, the young man looked away and continued to feed his golden fish.

Trembling, the middle-aged man nodded in assent and quickly took his leave.

Having settled the issue of Zori, Naruto returned to Fragrant Cloud Peak. He wasn't worried at all about Zabuza. Considering the meritorious service he had performed for the sect, unless he turned traitor, his life wouldn't be in danger at all.

As time passed, he lost some of his excitement over being called Sect Uncle, especially considering that most people avoided him at all costs. In fact, he actually came to feel a bit melancholy. However, one day he happened to wander into the scripture pavilion, whereupon his spirits were lifted almost instantly.

He found that as soon as he arrived, he was immediately granted a reading space alongside the lecturing elders, where he could look down upon the countless disciples in attendance.

He fell in love with the experience almost immediately, after which he came to frequent the mountaintop sermon pavilion.

There he would sit, occasionally giving a smile and a nod to disciples down below, eyes sparkling with satisfaction. He looked very much like the Foundation Establishment elders whom he sat next to.

The Foundation Establishment elders didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and as for the disciples from the various mountain peaks, their spirits couldn't be lower, but they had no choice but to simply stare up angrily at Naruto.

Naruto had found a new way to flaunt his status as the Junior Brother of the sect leader.

When he came into the presence of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, he would immediately call them Elder Brother and Elder Sister. Although they didn't say anything in response, strange expressions could be seen on their faces, and any nearby disciples would eventually be forced to utter the words 'Sect Uncle Naruto'.

Things went on like that for some time until one day, Naruto happened to run into Taruho. Unable to restrain himself, Naruto immediately cried out in an amiable tone, "Hey, Elder Brother Taruho."

Taruho looked a bit haggard. He had been working this entire time on concocting the Nine Ultimates Pill, and was currently on his way out of the sect. As soon as the words entered his ears, his jaw dropped, and he looked around until his gaze came to fall on Naruto. Then, his cheek twitched. Although he had been spending all his time on pill-concocting lately, he had heard about Naruto's antics, which had turned into quite a headache. To hear Naruto addressing him in such a fashion left Taruho glaring in shock.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto regretted speaking them. Seeing Taruho's reaction then caused him to suck in a breath. After all, Taruho was the person he feared most in the entire sect.

Grimacing, he shivered and quickly said, "Uncle Taruho... er... my mistake."

However, there was really nothing Taruho could do, and he knew it. Glaring even harder at Naruto, he decided to rebuke him a bit for his recent behavior.

"I'm leaving the sect for a bit," he said. "At the soonest, I'll be back in a few months; at the most, a year. Don't even think of fooling around while I'm gone. Work hard at your cultivation." After a few more words of exhortation, he turned and left.

Naruto let out a long sigh of relief as Taruho made his way off into the distance. A glimmer of fear could be seen in his eyes, but at the same time, a bit of warmth and respect for one of his elders could also be seen. He couldn't help but remember what Ryuzetsu said about the time he had gone missing, and how Taruho had spent two months searching for him on his own. Upon his return, Taruho had been in quite a sorry state, and seemed to blame himself for what had happened.

After Naruto's father and mother fell sick and died, he hadn't shown such warmth and respect to anyone. At some point, though, he had come to view Taruho as one of his own relatives.

Because of Taruho's admonition, Naruto changed his ways for about half a month. During that time, he ceased clearing his throat to attract attention, and instead focused his attention on Kurenai's immortal's cave. In all of the sect, she was the only person who knew him personally but refused to call him Sect Uncle Naruto.

After a few months passed, he started to get a bit depressed. After all, he could only catch sight of Kurenai whizzing around on her blue flying silk. Considering that he was incapable of flight, it didn't matter how much he chased after her, he could only watch in dismay as she flew away.

"There are probably only a few magical devices in the whole sect that Chakra Condensation disciples can use to fly. Without a special technique like the one that Madara used, the only way to fly is to get one of those magical devices.

"It's so unfair! My Master should have gifted me with such an item. My... my Master..." Sighing, he walked along for a bit more before suddenly stopping in his tracks. Looking up in thought for a moment, he suddenly turned and headed toward Mount Daoseed.

As the Junior Brother of the Sect Leader, he had unrestricted access to Mount Daoseed, and before long, there he was at the top of the mountain, where Sect Leader Hiruzen's grand hall was located.

Swaggering in, Naruto called out, "Elder Brother Sect Leader, oh dear Elder Brother Sect Leader! I want to go offer incense to my Master!"

Hiruzen sat there in the hall cross-legged in meditation. As soon as he heard Naruto's voice, he sighed.

In recent days, so many people had come to visit him that he had lost count. He had heard all about Naruto's doings, and had long since come to regret the situation. Unfortunately, as the old saying went, the timber had already been crafted into a boat, and there was little to be done. After all, despite Naruto's peculiar preoccupations, he wasn't doing anything to hurt anyone.

Hearing Naruto continue to call out to him, Hiruzen slowly rose to his feet, cleared his throat, and looked over solemnly.

"Calm down, I heard you."

Looking very charming, Naruto hurried over and clasped hands in greeting. "Junior Brother offers greetings, Elder Brother Sect Leader."

Hiruzen sighed inwardly. Although he knew what was going on, he couldn't help but shake his head and smile wryly as he led Naruto into the restricted area behind the mountain.

In the immortal's cave in that area, a portrait was hung on the wall depicting a middle-aged man. The man smiled faintly as he looked off into the distance, emanating a unique aura that made his image look quite lifelike.

Beneath the portrait was a small tribute altar, upon which could be seen some spirit fruits and spirit candles. The immortal's cave was simple but elegant, and filled one with a sense of incredible dignity.

As soon as Naruto entered, he hurried over to the portrait and plopped down into a kneeling position. Then he began to kowtow deeply, touching the floor with his forehead nine times, his expression very solemn.

Finally, he looked up at the portrait, his eyes radiating pious sincerity. "Master, apprentice has come to pay respects."

Hiruzen stood off to the side looking on. Although he knew Naruto was stubborn and mischievous, he also could tell that he had a filial heart. Considering Hiruzen's experience in life, he was able to tell from Naruto's expression that the pious sincerity was real, and not an act.

But then... Naruto continued to speak.

"Master, your apprentice has been going through some tough times. I can't even fly... Other disciples' Masters have all given them magical items to help them fly, as well as life-protecting treasures. Sadly, I don't have anything...

"But that's fine, Master. Your apprentice doesn't care about material things anyway. As long as I can burn some incense for you, sir, then I'm happy. Who knows, maybe your spirit in heaven will hear me and somehow manage to bequeath me with something..."

When Hiruzen heard this, his eyes went wide.

"Master, it wasn't very long ago that your apprentice gave everything to protect the sect, to ensure that its 10,000-year legacy continued on. To protect the honor of the sect, I was chased down relentlessly, and during that time, all of my magical items were lost or ruined. I came back to the sect without anything to call my own. My bags are empty. I'm more impoverished than a servant...

"I don't want you to feel any pressure, though, Master. It's fine. Your apprentice isn't afraid of lacking defensive magical items. Even if I don't have a magical flight device, I'll still go through hell or high water for the sect. It's my duty! However, if enough time goes by and I haven't come to burn incense for you, Master, then that will just go to show that my lack of life-protecting magical items and magical flight devices has caused me to lose my poor little life... At least then I will be able to personally go to reunite with you, sir." Even as he spoke, Naruto looked out at his dear Elder Brother Sect Leader out of the corner of his eye.

Hiruzen's face twitched. He was truly stupefied. In all the years he had practiced cultivation, this was the first time he had ever encountered a disciple as outlandish as Naruto.

Chuckling bitterly in his heart, he looked up at the portrait of his Master, and then thought for a long moment. It was true that when he had first been apprenticed to his Master, he had been bequeathed with a protective magical device.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Hiruzen looked over at Naruto, his gaze softening.

Before long, Naruto and Hiruzen left the immortal's cave. The entire time, Naruto was looking at Hiruzen out of the corner of his eye. Eventually, they reached the grand hall on Mount Daoseed, whereupon Hiruzen stopped walking. Turning to look at Naruto, he waved his hand, causing two streams of light to fly out, one of them gold, the other white.

The golden light contained a palm-sized flying sword. However, its mere appearance caused the air around it to distort as it radiated waves of heat. It seemed completely extraordinary, and was covered with countless complicated magical symbols which glittered radiantly, and caused fluctuations to spill out in all directions.

The white light contained a small shield, also palm-sized. It was made of white jade, and carved with extremely life-like immortal cranes. It also radiated an intense warmth.

Naruto could instantly tell that they were extraordinary items. Eyes shining, he began to pant as he realized that there was something even more outstanding to the two items; both of them were decorated with three unique flowing sets of lines.

Hiruzen looked gently at Naruto, his eyes gleaming with encouragement.

"Within the Golden Crow Sword is sealed a golden crow," he said. "It contains the power of blazing fire, and can summon an illusory golden crow of the same cultivation base as the person summoning it. It can be used to fly, and can be used until the early Foundation Establishment stage. If it is destroyed, it will unleash incredible power.

"The Divine Crane Shield is a defensive magical device created from the soul of an immortal crane. It can protect you from any deadly crisis less powerful than Foundation Establishment.

"My Master performed threefold spirit enhancements on both of these items, but didn't dare to proceed beyond that. Back when I joined the sect, my Master gave them to me, and I hereby represent him to bequeath them to you."

Naruto excitedly accepted the items and began to fondle them admiringly. "Thank you, Master. Thank you, dear Elder Brother Sect Leader!"

Because of the turtle-wok, Naruto understood quite a bit about spirit enhancement. He also was well aware that there was a Foundation Establishment elder from Violet Cauldron Peak who was a skilled spirit enhancer.

For a few merit points, that elder would help disciples perform spirit enhancements, usually no more than a one or twofold enhancement. Any higher than that, and the chances of failure mounted.

The fact that these two magical items had both received threefold enhancements meant that Naruto wouldn't have to waste any fuel on his own three-colored flame, and would also be able to freely use them in the public eye.

After returning to Fragrant Cloud Peak, he immediately set to work familiarizing himself with the Golden Crow Sword and the Divine Crane Shield. As soon as he sent some spiritual power into them, they began to radiate intense heat.

"Now these are some treasures!" he exclaimed. Taking a deep breath, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. A thrumming sound filled the air as the Golden Crow Sword transformed into a golden beam of light that shot off, leaving behind a wake of burning heat that caused everything around it to ripple and distort.

With another incantation gesture, he sent more spiritual power pouring into the sword, whereupon the bright glow surrounding it expanded until the vague shape of a golden crow became visible.

It was little more than an outline, but the instant it appeared, incredible pressure began to weigh down, and the temperature in the area increased rapidly. All of that caused Naruto's heart to thump excitedly.

Panting, he stared at the Golden Crow Sword, eyes shining more and more brightly. Soon, he began to laugh in excitement.

"This sword is way better than my little wooden sword! Wow, my Master is awesome!" With that, he dashed into motion, leaping up into the air and landing onto the back of the illusory golden crow.

Although the golden crow was blurry and vague, its back was as flat and sturdy as a board, and when Naruto sent some spiritual power into it, he felt almost as if he had become a part of it.

After stepping onto the golden crow, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, which caused him to fly up into the air. Then he soared in a big circle around Fragrant Cloud Peak, whizzing through the air above the crowds. When people looked up in surprise, he would slow down, hold his head high, and puff his chest out. When cries of astonishment began to ring out, he would finally increase his speed again.

"I, Naruto, can finally fly!" Spirits soaring, he laughed inwardly as his tour took him over the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. However, it was only moments later, just as he was about to head toward one of the other mountain peaks, that the golden crow suddenly faded away, and the sword fell out of the sky. Naruto screamed as he tumbled down along with it.

Thankfully, what lay below wasn't a bottomless pit, but rather, one of the small paths that ran through the sect. He landed at a run, and only managed to gain control after several steps. Then he looked over and realized how high up this path was, and that if he had fallen off, even his Undying Skin wouldn't have saved him...

His face went pale.

"That was way too dangerous!" he thought, shivering. With that, he picked up the Golden Crow Sword. Probing his inner spiritual power, he realized that he had been almost completely drained, which was why he had ended up falling.

For a Chakra Condensation cultivator, flying on a sword took a huge amount of energy. Most who were in the seventh level of Chakra Condensation would only be able to last for a few breaths of time before they had to stop. Even Naruto, with his unusually refined spiritual power, couldn't even last a hundred breaths.

Fearful of falling to his death, he didn't dare to test the sword out anymore. Looking around furtively for a moment to see if anyone had seen what just occurred, he caught sight of a burly man off in the distance, who was staring at him, his jaw hanging open.

When Naruto saw him, his eyes widened and he hurried over. "Whoah, aren't you Sect Nephew Wolf?"

When the burly man heard the words 'Sect Nephew Wolf', he immediately shivered. Grimacing, he clasped hands and said, "I'm disciple Akamaru. Greetings, Sect Uncle Naruto... I, um, I didn't see anything happen just now."

Naruto had encountered Akamaru when he was selling spots in the Outer Sect. Back then, the man had called himself Lord Wolf.

Naruto humphed a few times, then proceeded to frighten Akamaru a bit more to ensure that he wouldn't spread news of what had happened. Then he patted him on the shoulder, gave some promises to help him out in the future, and finally left.

Akamaru wiped the sweat from his brow before hurrying off.

As he walked along, Naruto rejoiced that it was only Akamaru who had seen his slight mishap. If it had happened when he was flying around by the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, his name would have been ruined forever...

"Ai. People. You really can't become too famous. Then things just become difficult." Sighing to himself, he clasped his hands behind his back and strolled back to his courtyard residence.

After a bit of hesitation about what to do, his eyes flickered with determination. "No, I have to focus on cultivation. Only being able to fly a little bit isn't inherently bad, but what would happen if I was fleeing for my life? What if I escaped my enemies only to fall to my death? That would be really pointless."

With that, he once again began to study the Golden Crow Sword and the Divine Crane Shield.

"Just to be safe, I should paint these two magical items as well. That way, people will think it's just a hobby of mine. Then if I pull out other spirit enhanced magical items in the future, they won't think too much of it." After some more thought, he prepared some dye from brightly colored plants and proceeded to paint the Golden Crow Sword and the Divine Crane Shield.

After covering up the faint spirit designs, he tested out the two items one more time. Finally, he looked pleased.

"One of these days when my skill in the Dao of medicine is high enough, I'll enhance some plant-based dyeing materials, and then I can be completely confident." Naruto was an inherently cautious person. Although he had run amuck to some extent because of becoming the Junior Brother of the sect leader, he had a bottom line that he wouldn't cross.

"What a pity my cultivation base still isn't high enough. The last time I was following Kurenai around, it seemed that she was already in the eighth level of Chakra Condensation. The only way to be able to use a flying sword for any length of time is to have a higher cultivation base." Determination filled his heart. After the incident with the Uchiha Clan, he had come to fully understand how brutal the cultivation world could be. He had also realized that the ability to flee at top speed was crucial when one's life was on the line.

If he had been able to fly on a sword back then, he would have been able to escape with Ryuzetsu and Amano no matter what the Uchiha Clan tried to do.

"I need to concoct pills!" he thought, eyes gleaming. Considering his current status, although he couldn't get free ingredients from the sect, there were certain pill formulas that he could get for only a few merit points. In the following days, Fragrant Cloud Peak became a quiet place, and Naruto was rarely seen.

He acquired large amounts of medicine formulas, and also used the spirit stones and other items he had acquired from the Uchiha Clan members to go to the market and purchase a variety of medicinal plants. Then he made his way to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, where he went into seclusion to concoct medicine.

Time flew by. A few months later, it had been nearly half a year since Naruto returned to the sect. At first, the sect had been thrown into an uproar because of him, but then things had suddenly gone very quiet. Many people found it hard to adapt.

At the same time, the fact that Naruto had become a Prestige disciple gradually spread outside of the sect. Soon, people all over the Eastwood Continent came to hear of the matter.

Of course, there were countless cultivator clans in the Eastwood Continent, many of which were connected to the Spirit Stream Sect in various ways. The Uchiha Clan had been only one among many such clans.

To the disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect, although the title of Prestige disciple was to be looked up to, being the Junior Brother of the sect leader was even more impressive.

However, to the cultivator clans at large, it was exactly the opposite. They would respect a Prestige disciple far more than they would the Junior Brother of the sect leader. In fact, they almost didn't care at all about the sect leader's Junior Brother. In contrast, they would be driven to near madness by a Prestige disciple.

After hearing the news that Naruto had become a Prestige disciple, many patriarchs of the various cultivator clans got very excited. In their eyes, he was a virtual gold mine. A living Prestige scion!

If they could bring Naruto into their clan, then his descendants would have almost limitless possibilities for the future. As the number of such descendants grew, and considering that the clan would have the support of the Spirit Stream Sect, glory was guaranteed.

To vassal clans in the cultivation world, it would ensure a meteoric rise, like the fish who jumped the dragon gate.

After all, the Spirit Stream Sect had only ever had nine Prestige clans. Those nine clans could often influence the decision-making process of the sect as a whole. Although such influence wasn't necessarily very vast, it was still worthy of consideration.

Such a clan would form a part of an enormously powerful entity, and would be the subject of intense envy from other cultivator clans. In the past, most clans couldn't influence anything. They could only offer allegiance to the Spirit Stream Sect and then perform various services with the hope of gaining Prestige status.

But now... Naruto had appeared.

Most wonderful of all was that he wasn't a member of any cultivator clan. He came from the mortal world, and... he had no Daoist partner. He was a free ticket to becoming the tenth Prestige clan, and as such, all of the cultivator clans in the Eastwood Continent were thrown into a frenzy.

"Find the prettiest maiden in the entire Sarutobi Clan. She'll be coming with me to offer greetings to Fellow Daoist Naruto!"

"Hana, you're the pearl of the Inuzuka Clan. You have to get on Naruto's good side. If he takes a liking to you, all of the problems of our clan will disappear!"

"Although the daughters of the Tenma Clan aren't particularly outstanding, we still qualify to compete. Prepare an amazing gift for me to give when I go offer greetings to Fellow Daoist Naruto!"

Countless cultivator clans sprang into action, using all sorts of methods, including calling upon their clan members who were already within the sect to try to get in touch with Naruto. Even the north bank was affected. Soon, the name of Naruto could be heard in all parts of the Eastwood Continent.

The Sky Clan was no exception.

The middle-aged patriarch of the Sky Clan summoned Amano and Amaru, whereupon he expressed his sincere wishes: "Amano, you have an unusually close relationship with Naruto. You... have to help out the clan in this matter. I can tell that your sister has taken a liking to Naruto. Find a good chance to act as a matchmaker between them."

Amaru's face reddened. Pouting coquettishly, she hurried off.

Amano was a bit worried, but he put on a bold face and nodded in agreement.

A few days later, people from numerous cultivator clans began to show up, gathering on Fragrant Cloud Peak around Naruto's residence. As news spread, some people even began to head toward the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, waiting anxiously for him to come out of seclusion.

A few days later, a boom echoed out from Naruto's pill-concocting workstation. Moments later, he appeared, frowning and looking anxious.

"Although I'm pretty familiar with tier-1 medicinal pills now," he lamented, " tier-2 pills are a lot harder..." Other than cultivation, his time recently had mostly been spent on concocting medicines. In his attempt to produce some tier-2 spirit medicines, he'd already used up most of the plants and vegetation in his bag. Unfortunately, the degree of difficulty he was working with was vastly greater than before, and despite being meticulously careful, he had failed consistently.

Each time he found that he had used too many materials, he would make adjustments. And yet even then, new problems would arise.

Sighing in despair, he walked out of the Medicine Concocting Pavilion and looked up to find a large host of people sitting there cross-legged. Most of them sat in groups of three to five, with a few groups of ten in sight. The majority were pretty young women, none of whom were familiar to Naruto.

They were all different shapes and sizes, but each one was beautiful in her own way. The lot of them were clearly vying with each other to be the most glamorous, and as soon as they saw Naruto emerge, their eyes shone brightly.

Most had older folks sitting next to them, who also seemed delighted to see Naruto. In fact, they all rose to their feet and rushed over in a hubbub.

Taken aback, and a bit unsure of what was going on, Naruto subconsciously stepped back a few paces. "Hey, hold on! What... what are you people doing?"

"Fellow Daoist Naruto, I'm Iwata. Iwashi is my nephew! Hahaha! Fellow Daoist Naruto, you truly are a young hero, a man of striking appearance and talent!"

"Fellow Daoist Naruto! What a dragon among men, heroic and extraordinary! A single glance reveals that he's like a roc soaring among the clouds, someone with unlimited potential. Ahem. I am Izuku, and these young women are all beauties from my clan. Fellow Daoist, if I'm not mistaken, you're lacking in terms of maidservants, correct?"

"Fellow Daoist Naruto, I am Gaku. A single glance at you, Fellow Daoist Naruto, and I can clearly sense your heroic spirit. You are obviously the future overlord of the eastern cultivation world. We were destined to be friends at first sight. Look at these young women standing next to me. Every single one is a precious pearl of the Inuzuka Clan..."

A clamor of voices rang out, each one trying to speak first and loudest. Naruto's eyes went wide, and he retreated a few more steps. However, it only took a moment for him to realize that these people had come to offer their clan daughters to him...

He wasn't sure exactly why it was happening, but upon looking the young women over, he could see that all of them were exceptionally beautiful. In fact, many of them could be counted as being his type. The way they were being offered up seemed to indicate that if he didn't accept, he would be refusing to give them face. Instantly, Naruto was on guard.

Of course, he was adept at dealing with people, so he didn't let any hint of that show on his face. A broad smile appeared, and after exchanging some meaningless pleasantries with the spokesmen from the various cultivator clans, he managed to extricate himself.

However, before he could reach his residence, he ran into others who had stationed themselves along the way. All of them had similar words to speak with him, and offered him their clan daughters as well as other gifts and promises.

"Something big must have happened, but what?" he thought. "Could it be that they found out one of my ancestors was an immortal? Maybe I'm not from the mortal world after all. I'm... I'm actually descended from some exalted, powerful individual? Heavens! How could I not have been aware?!" Mind spinning, he hurried along until his residence came in view. However, it was surrounded by a crowd of individuals from various cultivator clans, all of whose eyes glistened with hope. It was as if the mere nod of Naruto's head would cause them to do anything he wished!

That was especially true of the young women. They all clustered around Naruto, glaring antagonistically at each other, pushing and shoving each other back and forth.

The sight of it all caused Naruto's scalp to go numb. He was completely surrounded, and no matter which way he tried to move, he ran into something soft and warm. They even began to tug at his clothing, causing his heart to pound. Finally, a cold snort rang out, and Amaru appeared. Glaring angrily, cheeks puffed, she stormed up to him, shoving the other young women aside.

"Get out of my way! What do you people think you're doing!? This is Fragrant Cloud Peak of the Spirit Stream Sect. Don't you bunch of old coots know how to keep your cool? Get out of my way, all of you. Hey you! Look at you! You're skinnier than a greenbean! What are you shoving people around for? And you! You're fatter than a dairy cow! Get the hell out of my way!" Amaru sounded genuinely furious as she pushed aside all of the young women crowding around Naruto.

She was small and delicate, but she was fuming, and seemed to be filled with boundless strength. Facing such opposition, the other young women immediately surrendered and opened a path, crying out in confusion. Amaru stormed forward with her hands on her hips, looking like a chili pepper, the words she uttered incisive and damaging.

Naruto took advantage of the moment to hurry into the courtyard. Once inside, he looked down to find that his garments had been tugged at so much that they were about to fall off.

"Absolutely terrifying!" he thought, gasping. Heart pounding with residual fear, he looked back out through the main gate and saw Amaru standing there verbally sparring with the other young women, standing alone against a crowd of dozens.

Eventually, the responsible members of the cultivator clans couldn't stand idly by. They finally intervened and suggested to the young women that they leave. Clasping hands respectfully in Naruto's direction, they promised to come back to visit at a later date.

Soon, it was evening. It was quiet outside of Naruto's gate, but off in the distance, people from various cultivator clans were sitting cross-legged in meditation, seemingly guarding the area.

All of these people had used various means and methods to come from afar, and also had ways to keep themselves from being driven away.

Naruto was sure that something momentous had occurred. Looking at the quiet scene outside, he eventually dragged Amaru into the courtyard.

To outsiders, Amaru was as fiery as a hot pepper, but as soon as Naruto's hand made contact with her, her face turned bright red, and she felt dizzy. Her tiny frame almost went limp as Naruto dragged her inside.

When she spoke, her voice was as soft as the drone of a mosquito. "Big... big bro Naruto, there are so many people around, what are you planning to do to me...?"

"Huh?" Naruto said, staring in shock. Seeing Amaru's odd countenance, he could tell that something was wrong with her, and quickly slapped her cheek. When she didn't seem to recover, he slapped her again. Amaru immediately regained her senses.

"What's wrong with you!?" she snapped, stamping her foot. However, realizing she had been the one in the wrong, she tossed a jade slip to him, and then turned heel and fled.

As he watched Amaru flee into the distance, Naruto stood there wondering what was going on. Finally, he looked down at the jade slip and scanned it with spiritual power. As he did, his eyes went wide. After scanning it again, he stood there in the courtyard, breathing heavily.

"Prestige clan..."

The jade slip had been sent to Naruto by Amano, with Amaru being the messenger. The words contained within were the type that almost couldn't be uttered aloud. They explained why all of the cultivator clans were so interested in Naruto's status as a Prestige disciple, and what had occurred as a result. They also explained that the Sky Clan held an intense hope that Naruto's descendants... would also have the blood of the Sky Clan running in their veins.

Then Naruto thought about how Amaru had been acting just now, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Eyes sparkling, he thought, not about Amaru, but about his own words from moments ago. Something momentous had occurred!

"How could I have imagined...? And here I thought the reward for my meritorious service was basically useless. I thought that being the Junior Brother of the sect leader would make me a big hero in the sect, but I never thought that being a Prestige disciple would make me so important on the outside!" He licked his lips, and soon, his heart began to beat faster.

"I could pick any Daoist partner I wanted! All of their clan resources would be at my disposal... Finally, I have some real hope to live forever!" Chuckling mischievously, his eyes began to shine. Previously, he had been worried about how to keep up his efforts to concoct tier-2 spirit medicine. But now, people were essentially fighting over the chance to give him gifts.

"What a pity I can't accept them all..." he murmured. But then, he was struck with inspiration.

"Wait a second! Why can't I accept them all?!" Clearing his throat, he entered his cabin to rest for the evening, thinking the whole time about what to do next. The following morning at dawn, he leapt out of bed, trembling with excitement. After pushing open the gate of the courtyard, he found a whole host of people from various cultivator clans waiting for him.

"Fellow Daoist Naruto..."

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Naruto. Your humble servant has come upon the request of our clan patriarch to offer formal greetings..."

Everyone started talking at once, filling the air with a cacophony of sound. Naruto stuck his chin up and flicked his sleeve.

"Alright, enough is enough," he said, smiling so widely that his eyes became slits. "Everyone come close. Whatever requests you have, we can talk them all out." With that, he randomly nodded in the direction of one of the clans. The responsible member of the clan rushed forward in delight, dragging a few young women with him.

The women approached, looking a bit nervous. As for all of the other observing clans, they also seemed nervous, although for different reasons; they quickly began to transmit messages back home.

Things went on like that for the next clan, and then the next. One by one, all day. Naruto met with dozens of them.

He didn't choose any of the clan daughters, and yet, neither did he refuse anyone. He merely told them that he needed some time to think, and that the matter was too weighty to decide on a whim. As for all of the 'introductory gifts,' he didn't refuse a single one.

"I, Naruto, always handle all matters in a just and fair manner. Considering that I haven't yet chosen which honorable clan to ally with in marriage, I truly am unable to accept your gifts." Those were the words he would speak to each and every clan.

Of course, the more he spoke in such a way, the more the cultivator clans insisted that he accept their gifts. In fact, they grew even more polite. Many of them went on to say that even if no marriage resulted, they still wished to be good friends. Only then did Naruto reluctantly accept the gifts.

Although they might be fools, the people from these cultivator clans weren't stupid. They knew that when Naruto said he needed to think about the matter, he was most likely just waiting to see which clan would make the best offer.

That, of course, was within the purvey of expectation. Furthermore, all of them feared that if they didn't offer their gifts, Naruto wouldn't even consider their clan daughter to be his Daoist partner. The result was that the next day, the crowds hadn't thinned at all, and in fact, had grown more numerous. Furthermore, some of the cultivator clans even went so far as to say that even if their clan daughter couldn't become Naruto's Daoist partner, they were still willing for her to be a maidservant to warm his bed at night. As long as she could pass on his bloodline, and he acknowledged them formally, that would be sufficient.

All of the visiting clans continued to offer more and more gifts. In fact, it got to the point where Naruto was getting a bit nervous. Eventually, he truly wanted to refuse, and yet wasn't able to.

"Fine, I guess I'll accept... Not accepting isn't really an option, huh?" For seven or eight days in a row, he continued to receive the clans and accept their gifts. Every morning at dawn, he would walk out to find a whole host of people waiting for him.

Three more days passed. When dawn broke, Naruto pushed open the main gate, whereupon his jaw dropped. Shockingly... not a single person could be seen. Everything was peaceful and quiet; as far as the eye could see, the area was empty.

The only things he could see were some five-colored phoenixes, flying gracefully high above. The phoenixes were the beloved pets of Elder Obito, and often soared above Fragrant Cloud Peak around dawn. They would usually fly together in a flock, and were especially beautiful. Many disciples were jealous of them.

Naruto rubbed his eyes and looked around. Thinking that perhaps he had opened the gate incorrectly, he went back in, closed it, and then tried again. However, the result was the same.

"What's going on?" he thought, shocked. He quickly went off to find Amano to ask for an explanation.

Amano sighed and looked at Naruto. "Last night, the sect leader issued a Dharmic decree. As your Elder Brother, he notified the cultivator clans... that according to sect rules, you can't accept a Daoist partner within the next hundred years. Therefore... everyone had no choice but to leave."

Naruto's jaw dropped. Feeling very wronged, he said, "No more income... No more marriage..."

Amano wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. A moment later, though, he thought of something, and said, "Naruto, a friend of mine from Green Crest Peak told me that you and Zabuza have a beef with each other. Is that right? Well, just be aware that Zori isn't important at all. However you choose to deal with him, the sect will tacitly agree. But things aren't so simple when it comes to Zabuza!"

"What do you mean 'not so simple?'" Naruto asked. "Is he more important than me or something?" Having been a member of the Spirit Stream Sect for so many years, Naruto was well aware of how the sect tried to train its disciples. They pushed them toward greatness, prohibited deadly conflicts, and encouraged both cooperation and competition. Sect rules governed basic behavior. The elders of the various mountain peaks, as well as the Peak Lords themselves, provided assistance and training. And the Hall of Justice was a looming threat to deter bad behavior. The sect essentially had all aspects under control.

Of course, considering that between the north and south banks the Spirit Stream Sect had several hundred thousand disciples, it was obviously impossible to micromanage everything. Disciples would have conflicts and fights, and certain improper attitudes were impossible to control. However, the rewards and punishments in place were clear, and anyone who violated them would be strictly dealt with!

Naruto had performed an incredible service for the sect, possessed profound skill with plants and vegetation, and could unleash extraordinary battle prowess. The sect was naturally aware of that, and valued him greatly. Of course, they didn't cater to his every whim like a servant. If people insulted or provoked him, they wouldn't leap out to protect him... No disciple enjoyed such treatment, neither Zabuza nor Naruto.

Because of that, Naruto was of the belief that Zabuza, an arrogant, famous Chosen who other Outer Sect disciple went so far as to call Young Lord, was still not worthy of his own attention.

After a moment of thought, Amano responded, eyes shining as he told Naruto everything he knew: "Zabuza has great ambitions. He hopes that one day he will be able to enter the legendary Legacy Echelon. As such, he has continuously kept his cultivation base suppressed, keeping him between the Outer and Inner Sects. When the next trial by fire for Chosen from the north and south banks comes, he wants to take first place, and enter the Inner Sect at the top. That will earn him the chance to enter the Legacy Echelon. Were it not for that, he would have long since applied for an ordinary trial by fire to enter the Inner Sect. After all, anyone who reaches the eighth level of Chakra Condensation may do so."

Shocked, Naruto asked, "How come everyone wants to get into the Legacy Echelon? Sora told me that Kurenai, A, and everyone else wants to."

"Members of the Legacy Echelon have a similar status to Prestige disciples. However, it's a different branch within the Spirit Stream Sect. You see, the Spirit Stream Sect is different from other sects. We have two branches, one of which focuses on protecting the sect, and one of which focuses on increasing its glory and power!

"Everyone from the servants to the disciples in the third level of Chakra Condensation are lumped together in one lower group. Those from the fourth to the eighth level of Chakra Condensation constitute the Outer Sect. At the eighth level, you can apply for a trial by fire to enter the Inner Sect.

"If you can reach Foundation Establishment... then you can become a Foundation Establishment elder, and maybe even a Peak Lord. After two sixty-year-cycles pass, if you break through to the Gold Core level, then you can become a Prime Elder, responsible for protecting and managing the sect. That is the first branch.

"The second branch is the Legacy Echelon!

"There is only one way to get in, and that is... to break through to the Gold Core level before two sixty-year-cycles pass. From then on, you will become a tool to ensure that our sect earns an even greater position in the cultivation world, that it acquires... even more powerful resources and wealth! Anyone who takes first place in the Chosen battles will be in line to enter the Legacy Echelon. I'm not really sure about the exact details, but I do know that there are rules about the whole thing!

"The only thing is, reaching the Gold Core level before two sixty-year-cycles pass is very, very difficult... Of the members of the previous generation, the only person who has even come close is Peak Lord Taruho Taruho. That's why the sect favors him so much!"

Naruto took a deep breath. This was his first time hearing an explanation of the Legacy Echelon, which also gave him a much clearer understanding of the sect itself. Soon, he left, and as he made his way off, he continued to ponder the matter.

"Legacy Echelon...?"


End file.
